From Canelo Alvarez moving up in weight to the retirements of both Miguel Cotto and even Floyd Mayweather, the junior middleweight division has largely lacked an identity of single face over the last 18 months.
Expect that to change in the very near future thanks to an influx of young, hungry talent willing to face off against one another. Among them are unbeaten titleholders Jermell Charlo (WBC) and Jarrett Hurd (IBF), who have exchanged plenty of trash talk about one day facing off.
Before we can get to that fight, however, Hurd (21-0, 15 KOs) must first pass a test that is arguably just as difficult -- if not more -- when he faces WBA champion and division stalwart Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs) on Saturday (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET) in their 154-pound unification bout at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Hurd, who didn't have an extensive amateur career, has enjoyed a meteoric rise from prospect to contender and now champion over the last three years. A stoppage of then-unbeaten Frank Galarza in 2015 certainly got our attention. But it was consecutive knockouts of Tony Harrison last February for the vacant title and former champion Austin Trout in October that cemented him as a legitimately viable threat.
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"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," Hurd said. "It's a total different story. I feel like my power can stop anyone, put anyone down."
Hurd, a native of Maryland, has shown a dangerous mix of speed and power, enough so to pull him out of trouble against craftier and more experienced fighters like in the first half against Trout. But the southpaw Lara is an altogether more difficult puzzle than even Trout to solve, giving this fight the potential to be a trap for Hurd.
Despite the positives Hurd has shown up to this point, Lara is the type of fighter who can expose your lack of experience and craft without breaking a sweat, while slowing removing the air from the balloon as far as entertainment is concerned. Should you pressure him too aggressively like Alfredo Angulo in 2013, he also hits hard enough to end the fight.
"Every fighter wants to knock you out when you get in that ring," Lara said. "Paul Williams wanted to knock me out. Canelo, Vanes [Martirosyan], etc. [Hurd] keeps mentioning how it's going to be Angulo. Well, Angulo connected on me twice but don't forget how that fight finished. I ended Angulo's career. I ruined his career and I put him out of the top level of boxing.
"If Jarrett Hurd thinks he's going to come like that, I'm going to end his career too, at 27 years old. So come [Saturday], I'm hoping he puts that pressure so I could ruin his career for all the talking that he's been doing."
Lara vs. Hurd fight card, odds
| Favorite | Underdog | Weightclass |
|---|---|---|
Erislandy Lara -125 | Jarrett Hurd -105 | Junior middleweight |
James DeGale -450 | James DeGale +325 | Super middleweight |
The 34-year-old Lara, a native of Cuba, has compared Hurd's style to that of a Mexican fighter and hasn't shown much respect for his craft.
"Mexicans are fighters, man. I take it as a compliment," Hurd said. "When you describe a Mexican fighter, you stay toe-to-toe and that's what the fans like to see. Of course, that's not my only style. Everyone sees I can switch it up with my fight with Frank Galarza back in Las Vegas and it all depends on what I have to bring out that night. I can do it all.
"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. 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 and I just can't wait to show you guys that outcome."
Despite how difficult a matchup Lara is on paper, Hurd hasn't spoken like this is a career-defining fight of any kind. While he expects to gain credibility with a victory, it's clear he's looking at it as more of a setup for Charlo (30-0, 15 KOs).
Lara, who has made five defenses of the title he won from Ishe Smith in 2014, is also willing to face Charlo next should he be victorious on Saturday.
Both fighters have plenty of history as stablemates under trainer Ronnie Shields in Houston before Charlo left to work with trainer Derrick James. While Lara believes he's the only fighter at 154 pounds capable of taming Charlo, he's equally skeptical that his former sparring partner would ever face him.
"From my experiences of hundreds of rounds of sparring, Jermell Charlo won't fight Erislandy Lara next when we get done with Hurd," Lara said. "Only time will tell. I said it before and I'm going to say it again — I'm going to clean out the division and that has been my plan from the beginning and I'm going to stick to my plan. I don't care who the champions are. I don't care what their names are or where they're from. I'm going to clean up the division and it starts [Saturday.]"
Prediction
Nobody looks good against Lara, not even Williams or Alvarez, who both claimed disputed decisions in the Cuban's only two pro defeats. But a fight against a defensive wizard such as Lara is always more fun when the opponent has equal measures of speed, power and youth on his side, which is certainly the case for Hurd.
The important part for Hurd will be figuring out just how hard he can press down on the gas pedal to apply pressure and force Lara to open up without becoming too reckless that he'll find himself open for dangerous counter shots. Finding that balance hasn't been easy for any of Lara's opponents.
Lara's greatest strength isn't that different from Mayweather in that he forces you to expend so much energy in trying to trap him that you become too frustrated that you gas out and slowly give up. Even with his explosive qualities, he's going to need to find a punch he can consistently touch Lara with -- preferably his jab -- in order to stay close enough to land the type of shot that will alter the fight.
Hurd has provided no reason up to this point to doubt he has the hunger and physical tools to stay competitive up to a certain point. But what happens if he can't hurt Lara early and his plan A, B and even C prove ineffective?
The best plan of action for Hurd could be to follow the blueprint of Alvarez to lean on flurries of smart activity meant to sway the judges when all is said and done, even if he can't consistently land flush on Lara. It will take mental focus and stamina. It was also take the kind of experience that Hurd just may not have up to this point.
Pick: Lara by UD12.
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