Jarrett Hurd

At 34 years old, Jarrett Hurd has this physical status:

Jarrett Hurd (born August 31, 1990) is an American professional boxer.

He is a former world middleweight champion who has competed for WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO titles between 2017 and 2019.

Hurd is ranked as the world's second best active light middleweight by The Ring magazine and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and fourth BoxRec.

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Amateur career

Hurd was born in Accokeek, Maryland, and graduated from Gwynn Park High School. He wasn't a standout amateur, only compiling a 32–8 record in 40 amateur competitions.

Professional career

Despite Hurd's inability as an amateur, Ross Molovinsky, the owner of Keystone Boxing, scouted him as a potential candidate. Hurd made his pro debut in September 2012. Hurd made his debut on ShoBox: The New Generation against fellow unbeaten prospect Frank Galarza after winning his first 16 fights. Hurd's start was slow, but Galarza was outclassed in round 2, who was unable to cope with Hurd's jab and speed. The referee called the match off after six lopsided rounds, bringing Hurd a TKO victory. Hurd's performance was lauded by showtime analyst Steve Farhood.

Hurd will face Shawn Porter in a 10-round match at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn New York on May 19, 2016. The fight was originally on the non-televised undercard, but it wasn't until three days before the fight that it was broadcast on CBS was pushed up. The reason Hurd's fight was postponed was because of Jes' Cuellar's Cuellar vs. Abner Mares' suspension was postponed after Mares sustained an eye injury. Hurd defeated Molina with a round ten TKO. Hurd dropped Molina in the first round with an uppercut. Some media commentators said that the last round stoppage was premature. Hurd's scorecards read 87–83, 88–90, 90–80 in favour of Hurd right before round ten.

Hurd had been scheduled to face Jorge Cota in November 2016, but Cota was forced to cancel after undergoing an emergency appendectomy and was replaced by Jo Jo Dan (35-3, 18 KOs). The brawl took place on November 12 at Temple University's Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. Hurd won the match with a round 6 TKO, defeating Dan with crisp combinations. "The weight made a huge difference," Dan said after the war. "I took the fight on short notice, but I'm a natural 147-pounder and I don't have to try to make that."

On PBC on FOX, Hurd will face Tony Harrison on February 25, 2017, 17-1, 20 KOs). The fight was supposed to be an IBF title eliminator for the right to face Jermall Charlo, but as Charlo vacated the competition, it was relegated to the vacant title. Hurd defeated Harrison to win the vacant IBF light middleweight title. Hurd was struggling right at the start of the game, losing in the early rounds. Harrison seemed to be having trouble dealing with Hurd's strength as the battle went on. Harrison was knocked down by a right hook, he woke up but was unable to continue. Hurd said after the fight, "We wanted to spend our time with him because Harrison can box and move, but every time he fights, he wears down toward the end." Both boxers received a $125,000 payout.

Hurd's first defense was set against former world champion Austin Trout on May 31, 2017. The match was scheduled for September 29 on Mikey Garcia's undercard of Mikey Garcia vs. Adrien Broner in New York. The fight was being lined up to take place on September 30, 2017, according to Boxing Scene as part of Jermell Charlo's WBC title defense against Erickson Lubin. Since Hurd was allowed an exception from the IBF to make a voluntary defense, the winner must meet mandatory challenger Cedric Vitu next. The fight will be held at the Barclays Center on October 24, 2017, as part of a junior middleweight triple-header. Trout got the fight going on fight night, winning the early rounds by jabbing and moving. However, Hurd didn't seem to hurt Trout with some power shots during the third round. Hurd was able to stifle Trout's movement in the middle rounds, making the match more of a brawl, with both fighters trading power shots. And though he didn't tire during round 7, Hurd seemed unconcerned by Trout's punches. Trout, on the other hand, was notably backed up several times by Hurd's shots. During round 7, Hurd was ruled out of a head match, but Trout's right eye began to swell. Trout was defeated once more by Hurd at the end of round 10. To the chagrin of the former world champion, Trout's cornermen returned in round 10 to shield their fighter. The estimated attendance was 7,643. Hurd earned $330,000 for the fight, while Trout, who was suspended outside the distance for the first time since becoming a professional, was paid $225,000. Hurd landed 265 of 753 punches (33%), while Trout landed 208 of his 673 thrown (31%).

Hurd and WBA (Super) and IBO champion Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs) were announced on January 9, 2018, with Showtime televising the match. The brawl was confirmed to take place on January 25, but it was scheduled to take place on April 7. Lara will be rewarded with a large purse of $1 million, while Hurd will be given a $500,000 purse. Lara weighed 153.5 pounds while Hurd came in just under 153 pounds at 153 pounds. Hurd beat Lara in a 12-round split in what was a potential battle for a year candidate to become the unified light middleweight champion. Hurd knocked Lara down with a short left hook in round 12 with a minute remaining, with the match in the balance. Lara was sick from the crash but she was able to get up and throw some good shots. The final round was dominated by Hurd. Hurd's score was 114-113, while Lara's was given the same rating, indicating that the knockdown was the deciding factor in the match. A number of rounds were close to Lara's by effective counter punching and combinations, but Hurd used his size to stalk Lara and land power shots. Starting round 7, Lara's right eye swelled and was eventually cut at the start of round 12. Because Hurd's lack of pressure on Lara until the later rounds, the two fighters started the contest as the best boxer of the two teams. Hurd became the seventh united world champion 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 lvarez.

Despite the humiliation, Lara thought he had a solid enough lead to win the match. Had Lara not been knocked down, the match would have ended in a majority draw with both boxers retaining their respective belts. Lara said, "I was winning this fight easily despite the last round." That's not to say that the battle will be decided. One punch in a fight does not decide the outcome of the match. I want the rematch by a hundred percent. The eye was the culprit. I couldn't be there in the last round." Hurd said, "It was a tough one," Hurd said, but I went out and did exactly what I said I was going to do: fight all 12 rounds and gain the victory. I didn't feel like that [12th-round knockdown for the win]] [I didn't feel like that]. I feel like I was in charge of the whole conflict from the get-goal, but "putting the heat." Hurd landed 217 of 824 punches (26%) and Lara landed 176 of his 572 thrown (31%), according to CompuBox reports. Hurd defeated Lara 106-71 in the final four rounds, with 96 being power shots against Lara's 58 power punches. The contest, which was shown on Showtime, attracted 490,000 viewers and a record of 521,000 viewers.

Although the WBA ordered a direct rematch between Lara and Hurd, the latter denied the suggestion that he wanted to progress to bigger battles to become the undisputed light middleweight champion.

Hurd underwent shoulder surgery in June 2018 but he revealed he was injured prior to his unification match against Lara in April. Hurd's manager Ernesto Rodriguez said the shoulder was recovering quickly and that he would return to the ring in November 2018. Hurd will return to Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, in October. Jason Welborn (24-6, 7 KOs), a British boxer, who will be returning to light middleweight for the first time since 2016. Hurd weighed in at 152 pounds, and Welborn came in at 152 12 pounds. Hurd's first $1 million purse was won by the tournament, while Welborn's $30,000 purse was worth $30,000.

After rehydrating overnight to 172 pounds, the fish were rehydrated. Hurd knocked Welborn out in round 4 to keep his light middleweight titles. Hurd was pinned against the ropes several times from the beginning of the game, and welborn screamed at him from the start of the game. During the brief fight, the Hurd looked ill a few times. In round 3, Hurd, who was normally a slow starter, became more involved. Welborn had a new landed shot at the start of round 4, but Hurd was still on the ground firings. Hurd managed to get out of the ropes and started trading back, eventually landing a hard body shot that knocked Welborn. Welborn stayed down too long, and we barely managed to beat the count. However, Referee Lou Moret called a halt to the due to Welborn's taking too long to get up. Round 4's official time was 1 minute and 56 seconds. During Hurd's post-fight interview with Showtime reporter Jim Gray, the WBC champion Jermell Charlo said that a fight against Hurd would be 'easy money' and that he was willing to face him next. Hurd said, "I'm just coming out of surgery so I wanted to see how I handled the jab." I felt safe working behind the jab. I was lucky that I had been fired with some bullets and thought, 'That's enough.' He has enough television time.' I heard the crowd and decided against being brave, so I got the knockdown and ran it down." Hurd said he would call the shots in the talks against Charlo.

Hurd's next defense came against Julian Wililams on May 11, 2019. Williams was ranked #1 by the IBF and #4 by the WBA at light middleweight. Both fighters came out vehemently in what was a Fight of the Year challenge. Williams was able to get the best out of Hurd, dropping him twice in the second round, and outboxing Hurd on several occasions. Williams was the clear winner, with 116–111, 115–112 and 115–112 to give Hurd his first loss of his professional career.

Hurd defeated Francisco Santana on January 25, 2020, during his comeback fight. The war revealed a new Hurd, who battled more on the outside than on the inside. Hurd dominated the contest in every way, even as he managed to knock his opponent out in the final round en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Hurd met Luis Arias on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Logan Paul on June 6, 2021. Hurd knocked his opponent down in the ninth round of the tournament but lost by a split decision of 95–93 in favor of Arias.

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