Jarrett Hurd

Hurd vs Harrison

On January 24, 2017 it was announced that Hurd would next fight on Deontay Wilder's undercard on February 25 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama against Tony Harrison (24-1, 20 KOs) on PBC on FOX.^[14] The fight was originally supposed to be an IBF title eliminator for the right to fight Jermall Charlo, but when Charlo vacated the title, the fight was elevated to be for the vacant title.^[15][16] Hurd defeated Harrison to win the vacant IBF light middleweight title.^[17] Hurd struggled at the start of the fight, being outboxed in the early rounds. As the fight went on, Harrison seemed to struggle coping with Hurd's power. Harrison was knocked down by a right hook, he got up but was unable to continue. After the fight, Hurd said "We wanted to take our time with him because Harrison can box and move, but every time he fights, he wears down toward the end." Both boxers earned a $125,000 purse.^[18][19]

Hurd vs Trout

On May 31, 2017, The Ring TV announced a deal was in place for Hurd to face former world champion Austin Trout for his first defense. The fight was scheduled for July 29 on the undercard of Mikey Garcia vs. Adrien Broner in New York.^[20] On July 20, Boxing Scene reported the fight was being lined up to take place on September 30, 2017 as part of a light middleweight double header alongside Jermell Charlo's WBC title defence against Erickson Lubin. Because Hurd was granted an exception from the IBF to make a voluntary defence the winner must fight mandatory challenger Cedric Vitu next.^[21] On August 24, it was announced that the fight would take place as part of a junior middleweight triple-header at the Barclays Center on 14 October 2017.^[22] On fight night, Trout started the fight well, winning the early rounds by jabbing and moving. However, during the third round, Hurd seemed to hurt Trout with some power shots. In the middle rounds, Hurd was able to stifle Trout's movement, making the fight more of a brawl, with both fighters trading power shots. Hurd seemed unfazed by Trout's punches, even though he seemed to tire during round 7. On the other hand, Trout was visibly backed up several times by Hurd's shots. Hurd was cut from a head clash during round 7, while Trout's right eye started swelling. Hurd backed up Trout once again towards the end of round 10. Trout's cornermen retired following round 10 to protect their fighter, to the chagrin of the former world champion.^[23] The announced attendance was 7,643. For the fight, Hurd earned $330,000, while Trout, who was stopped inside the distance for the first time since turning professional, was paid $225,000. In the action packed fight, Hurd landed 265 of 753 punches (35%) and Trout landed 208 of his 673 thrown (31%).^[24][25]

Hurd vs Lara

On January 9, 2018 it was confirmed that a deal was being put in place for a unification fight between Hurd and WBA (Super) and IBO champion Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs) for April 2018 with Showtime televising the bout.^[26] On January 25, the fight was confirmed to take place on April 7.^[27][28] It was reported Lara would receive a large purse of $1 million and Hurd would receive a $500,000 purse. Lara weighed 153.5 pounds and Hurd came in slightly lighter at 153 pounds.^[29] Hurd won a 12 round split decision over Lara in what was a potential fight of a year candidate to become a unified light middleweight champion. With the fight in the balance, Hurd knocked Lara down with a short left hook in round 12 with a minute remaining. Lara was hurt from the knockdown, but was able to get up and still throw some nice shots. Hurd dominated the final round. Two judges scored the fight 114-113 for Hurd and the third judge had the same score for Lara, meaning the knockdown was the deciding factor in the fight. A lot of rounds where close with Lara using effective counter punching and combinations, whereas Hurd used his size to stalk Lara and land power shots.^[30] Lara's right eye began to swell from round 7 and was eventually cut at the start of round 12. Lara started the fight the better boxer of the two, due to Hurd not putting as much pressure on Lara until the later rounds.^[31] With the win, Hurd became seventh unified world title holder in light middleweight history, joining Hall of Famers Terry Norris, Félix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Winky Wright, as well as Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Canelo Álvarez.

Despite the knockdown, Lara thought he had a good enough lead to win the fight. Had Lara not been knocked down, the fight would have finished a majority draw with both boxers keeping their respective belts. In regards to the decision, Lara said, "Besides the last round, I thought I was winning this fight easily. That's not to decide the fight. One punch in a fight doesn't determine the fight. One hundred percent I want the rematch. The problem was the cut on the eye. I couldn't see in the last round." After the fight, Hurd said, "It was a tough one, but I went out there and did exactly what I said I was going to do -- fight all 12 rounds and get the victory. I didn't feel like that [12th-round knockdown for the win]. I feel like I was in control the whole fight, applying the pressure." According to CompuBox statistics, Hurd landed 217 of 824 punches thrown (26%) and Lara landed 176 of his 572 thrown (31%). Hurd outlanded Lara 106-71 in the final four rounds, with 96 being power shots compared to Lara's 58 power punches.^[32][33] The fight, televised on Showtime, averaged 490,000 viewers and peaked at 521,000 viewers.^[34]