Erislandy Lara (red, white and blue trunks) is the longest reigning junior middleweight titlist. (Photo by Anthony Geathers/Getty Images)
The problem with Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs) is that, even though he’s a talented boxer, he’s never been a must-see attraction, mostly because he tends to make boring fights. But Hurd (21-0, 15 KOs) is an aggressive fighter with good power, and if he dethrones Lara—a decidedly difficult task, mind you—he could become the face at junior middleweight.
“I think it was really the style matchup,” Stephen Espinoza, who’s in charge of Showtime boxing, said when asked recently by reporters why he matched up Lara and Hurd instead of the undefeated Jermell Charlo (30-0, 15 KOs). “When we sat down and looked at them, they’re three exciting fighters, three great champions, but the matchup that was really intriguing because of the styles was Lara vs. Hurd. Erislandy has never shied away from any challenge. Jarrett was very vocal about wanting to unify. And the combination of their styles, where they are in their careers, it seemed like an intriguing matchup.”
There are plenty of reasons to watch Lara vs. Hurd. Here are three of them.
1) Lara is even better than his record shows: Despite his two losses and his two draws, you could make the case that Lara, who is a slight -125 betting favorite, should be undefeated. His majority-decision defeat to Paul Williams in 2011 is one of the biggest boxing robberies of the past several years, and his split-decision loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2014 could have gone to Lara instead. He’s the longest-reigning junior middleweight titlist, winning his belt in 2014, and his defense might be a tough riddle for Hurd to solve. “Of course, I’m not going to stay in there and try to box with Lara because Lara is an expert on what he does,” Hurd said. “Lara is not going to stand there toe-to-toe with me because of my size, inside game and my power. So it’s going to be a cat and mouse game.”
2) Hurd has serious power: In his last two fights, it took some time for Hurd to get warmed up, as Austin Trout and Tony Harrison both found success in the early parts of their bouts. But then this happened vs. Harrison.
Eight months later, Hurd became the first fighter to stop Trout. Though Lara said “he’s a big, strong fighter, but pretty basic,” Hurd’s power could be the great equalizer in this bout. “I have the power that’s deceptive and it doesn’t look as hard on TV or while you’re in there until you feel it,” said Hurd, who’s on a seven-fight knockout streak. “It’s a total different story. I feel like my power can stop anyone, put anyone down.”
">The junior middleweight division is lacking starpower at the moment. Jarrett Hurd, though, hopes to change that Saturday on Showtime when the 154-pound titlist faces Erislandy Lara, the man who’s been one of the best in the division for the past several years, in a unification fight.
Erislandy Lara (red, white and blue trunks) is the longest reigning junior middleweight titlist. (Photo by Anthony Geathers/Getty Images)
The problem with Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs) is that, even though he’s a talented boxer, he’s never been a must-see attraction, mostly because he tends to make boring fights. But Hurd (21-0, 15 KOs) is an aggressive fighter with good power, and if he dethrones Lara—a decidedly difficult task, mind you—he could become the face at junior middleweight.
“I think it was really the style matchup,” Stephen Espinoza, who’s in charge of Showtime boxing, said when asked recently by reporters why he matched up Lara and Hurd instead of the undefeated Jermell Charlo (30-0, 15 KOs). “When we sat down and looked at them, they’re three exciting fighters, three great champions, but the matchup that was really intriguing because of the styles was Lara vs. Hurd. Erislandy has never shied away from any challenge. Jarrett was very vocal about wanting to unify. And the combination of their styles, where they are in their careers, it seemed like an intriguing matchup.”
There are plenty of reasons to watch Lara vs. Hurd. Here are three of them.
1) Lara is even better than his record shows: Despite his two losses and his two draws, you could make the case that Lara, who is a slight -125 betting favorite, should be undefeated. His majority-decision defeat to Paul Williams in 2011 is one of the biggest boxing robberies of the past several years, and his split-decision loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2014 could have gone to Lara instead. He’s the longest-reigning junior middleweight titlist, winning his belt in 2014, and his defense might be a tough riddle for Hurd to solve. “Of course, I’m not going to stay in there and try to box with Lara because Lara is an expert on what he does,” Hurd said. “Lara is not going to stand there toe-to-toe with me because of my size, inside game and my power. So it’s going to be a cat and mouse game.”
2) Hurd has serious power: In his last two fights, it took some time for Hurd to get warmed up, as Austin Trout and Tony Harrison both found success in the early parts of their bouts. But then this happened vs. Harrison.
Eight months later, Hurd became the first fighter to stop Trout. Though Lara said “he’s a big, strong fighter, but pretty basic,” Hurd’s power could be the great equalizer in this bout. “I have the power that’s deceptive and it doesn’t look as hard on TV or while you’re in there until you feel it,” said Hurd, who’s on a seven-fight knockout streak. “It’s a total different story. I feel like my power can stop anyone, put anyone down.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshkatzowitz/2018/04/07/erislandy-lara-vs-jarrett-hurd-anthony-joshua-ratings-jess-willard/
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