Unified junior middleweight world titleholder Jarrett Hurd has been soaking in the accolades since unifying belts with an electrifying split decision victory against Erislandy Lara in April, a win he pulled out by scoring a knockdown in the final round — despite a torn rotator cuff — in a fight of the year front runner.
The compelling victory made Hurd, of Accokeek, Maryland, into something of a celebrity in the Washington, D.C., region and has given him what he’s always wanted in the sport: universal respect.
“The win over a long-reigning champion like Erislandy Lara solidified in everyone else’s mind what I already knew. Now I’m getting the respect I deserve,” he said. “After that fight I got the respect that I deserved from everyone because they seen that I may not be the fastest guy, I may not have the prettiest style, but one thing’s for sure — he’s in shape and he’s coming to win.”
“It’s crazy to me because I grew up watching pay-per-view and now I’m on it as the co-main event. It’s the respect and the recognition I was fighting for my whole career. I finally got it. I’m blessed to be on the undercard of one of the biggest fight this year and it’s an honor. I can’t wait to go out there and put on a show.”
Jarrett Hurd
In recent months, Hurd has been given awards, including as the 2018 Washington, D.C. Boxing Hall of Fame fighter of the year. The Washington Redskins invited him to a recent home game and presented him with a No. 1 team jersey.
Hurd, now considered by most as the No. 1 fighter in the 154-pound division, as well as one of boxing’s most entertaining fighters, has enjoyed every minute of it.
“Right now, I’m in a position I never want to give up,” he said with a smile.
But Hurd did not have a big reputation as an amateur boxer, so when he opted to turn professional in 2012 there was no fanfare the way there would have been had he been an Olympian or even a Golden Gloves champion.
He fought on small cards in Washington and the surrounding area and admitted that he did not even contemplate the possibility of reaching the level he has.
“I didn’t have big goals of becoming a world champion at the time,” he said. “I was thinking I want to fight out of town and become a main event.”
As he was on the rise, Hurd’s friend, Christopher Walton, began recording his fights with his cell phone. It was a pivotal move.
“We started to upgrade every fight to a better camera,” Hurd said. “We got the videos out to (adviser) Al Haymon, we got picked up by him and then I got my shot on television. It was an opportunity I said I had to take full advantage of. And I went out there and not only did I get to where I’m at, I became No. 1 in the world. A lot of people didn’t expect it but it definitely happened.
“My name wasn’t really out there. I wasn’t a decorated amateur and I wasn’t an outspoken guy either. So if a video wasn’t out there for people to see they wouldn’t know me. Thankfully, my friend Christopher Walton was recording me and putting me out there.”
Hurd, who now has Walton on his team as his official videographer, is the first to admit that he snuck up on everyone. But he’s not sneaking up on anyone now.
In his first fight since undergoing surgery to repair his left rotator cuff following the victory against Lara, Hurd will return for his third title defense against underdog Jason Welborn on Saturday (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET) in the co-feature of the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury heavyweight world title fight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“It’s crazy to me because I grew up watching pay-per-view and now I’m on it as the co-main event,” he said. “It’s the respect and the recognition I was fighting for my whole career. I finally got it. I’m blessed to be on the undercard of one of the biggest fight this year and it’s an honor. I can’t wait to go out there and put on a show.”
Hurd (22-0, 15 KOs), 28, notched solid televised victories over then-undefeated Frank Galarza in 2015 followed by knockouts of then-unbeaten Mexican Olympian Oscar Molina and former world title challenger Jo Jo Dan in 2016.
That led to a shot at a vacant world title against Tony Harrison in February 2017 and Hurd delivered an impressive ninth-round knockout.
“Even with that fight people were still kind of on the fence,” Hurd said. “After that win I became world champion and I got some respect from some guys but some people still think the title was given to me because I didn’t take it from a champion.”
His first defense, 13 months ago, came against battle-tested former titleholder Austin Trout, who had beaten Miguel Cotto and though he had lost to Canelo Alvarez, Lara and Jermall Charlo, they were by decision. Then Trout challenged Hurd, who broke him down until Trout’s corner stopped the fight after the 10th round.
“When I got a stoppage over Austin Trout that’s when I started to get respect, not only from the stoppage but the way I did it — after I suffered a cut over my eye from a head butt,” Hurd said. “People saw that heart and determination to win and people loved that. I got the respect but I don’t think I had won the fans over that I was one of the best in the weight class yet.”
Then came the unforgettable fight with Lara, in which Hurd was the underdog.
“That was definitely a fight I was doubted in,” he said. “People were like, ‘Man, you just became champion, why take such a tough fight in a unification so early?’ The fight, to me, was a winnable fight. I had been training for a (possible) fight with Erislandy Lara since the Tony Harrison fight. I was trying to master the pressure, pressure, pressure kind of style. During the fight I was kind of surprised because Lara was this master boxer with the Cuban background and he kind of stood there and fought me.
“I thought he was going to try to box but he sat there toe-to-toe with me. The 12th round my coach told me you have this fight won. You’re the unified champion if you make it out of this round. But something just told me, ‘Nah, Jarrett, just finish this fight.’ Something told me to go out there and close the show. And I went out there in the 12th round and I’m so thankful I did that because I got the knockdown and it was the deciding factor in the fight for me to win.” Not only did he get a knockdown, Hurd did it by landing his damaged left arm, which had bothered him throughout training camp.
“I think what makes Jarrett Hurd so special is his demeanor. He’s a humble kid who works hard and knows what he has to do,” said Ernesto Rodriguez, Hurd’s trainer. “Every minute he’s in the ring he’s aware of what he has to do.”
Hurd said his shoulder is now 100 percent but he took a fight with a lesser opponent in former British middleweight champion Welborn (24-6, 7 KOs), 32, of England, to make sure it’s sound and set himself up for a further unification fight with Jermell Charlo (31-0, 15 KOs), whom he likely will meet in the first half of 2019 on Showtime as long as Hurd wins Saturday and Charlo defeats Harrison on Dec. 22.
“I do want to give the fans the fights they want to see. I don’t want to be that guy who’s waiting around, making excuses, avoiding other fighters,” Hurd said. “But if I’m fighting a fighter like (Welborn) there’s a reason why. I am coming back from the surgery. I want an opponent there to test my arm out. I’m not saying I’m overlooking Welborn, but I don’t want too much of a risk with what’s going on with my arm.”
There is also the prelude to the Charlo showdown a fight both have strongly said they want.
“(Charlo) is fighting an opponent (Harrison) I just fought to compare us as two fighters,” Hurd said. “It’s definitely all build up for the fight in 2019. I want it bad, man. I told myself I don’t care what I have to do but that fight’s gonna happen and I want it to happen next year. I’m gonna keep calling him out, I’m gonna keep speaking his name. I’m No. 1, I’m the unified champion. I shouldn’t have to be calling him out. But that’s how bad I want the fight. … Unification is what the division needs. I know for sure that me and Charlo both want this fight.”
It probably will happen, but win or lose, Hurd has already achieved what he’s always wanted: Respect.