Boxing: Jarrett Hurd continues to battle critics outside the ring
Former boxing champion Jarrett Hurd began his road to redemption on Saturday night with a victory in the ring and more questions from critics.
Jarrett Hurd, in his first match since losing his WBA and IBF titles to Julian Williams last June, made his return at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, with a new fighting style. Hurd would end the night victorious with a 10-round unanimous decision over Francisco Santana in a special attraction bout. Empire Writes Back was on hand as Hurd picked up the bounce-back win without winning over many fans in Brooklyn.
The 29-year old Maryland native received a considerable amount of boos from the thousands in attendance for the PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) event. The lack of in-ring action and overwhelming offense was surprising from Hurd, who still controlled the fight to little excitement from the crowd. Hurd addressed the crowd’s lack of support following the fight focusing more on wanting to get back in the win column.
"“We came out here and did what we wanted to do. The crowd didn’t love it, but you gotta understand, I got the unanimous decision, and I did what I wanted to do.”"
.@Swift_JHurd talked about his uppercut being a weapon in this fight and with his massive size advantage, he's able to throw it from any distance. #HurdSantana #PBConShowtime pic.twitter.com/WOrqozvQT2
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) January 26, 2020
"“There was no frustration. We didn’t want to go toe to toe, and we didn’t want to make this a risky fight."
The goal was definitely not to entertain the crowd and it appears under a new trainer and fighting style this will be a formula Hurd will use moving forward. The idea seems to be to avoid the sneaky quick strikes that can occur with his original pressure attacking stance. The highlight reels won’t beg for it but it may be what is needed to win fights against more seasoned opponents.
"“We’ve moved on from the Julian Williams fight, Said Hurd, We came out here, we had a long lay-off and we got the job done.”"
.@Swift_JHurd sends Francisco Santana to the canvas as the 10th and final round comes to a close. #HurdSantana pic.twitter.com/8GQtHJyHAr
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) January 26, 2020
"“We want the belts. We want the best. I’m not exactly sure what’s going to be the next move, but we want the belts.”"
Boxing: Danny Garcia’s latest victory was influenced by Mike Tyson. dark. Next
Hurd will be an interesting option in his weight class especially after Saturday night’s victory.