Jarrett Hurd and Julian Williams are set to square off for Hurd’s WBA and IBF titles at 154 pounds tonight on FOX, and the tale of the tape is seen as a significant piece of information with this matchup. Here’s a look at how the fighters stack up: Williams is not a small junior middleweight or anything, Hurd’s just a really big one. And everyone knows that Jarrett Hurd uses that size as his main weapon, imposing his will on opponents and breaking them down. He can be outboxed — Tony Harrison has done it, Austin Trout has done it, and Erislandy Lara has done it. But they all lost to Hurd, who just overwhelmed them as fights went along, and stopped Harrison and Trout. It also has to be noted that Williams had just a bit of trouble making weight on Friday, having to strip down to come in under the limit, and it was reported beforehand that he was having trouble. Williams also found himself overpowered in his other title chance back in 2016, when Jermall Charlo knocked him out in the fifth round. Charlo, like Hurd, was a big 154-pound fighter. Not the same fighting style, but that was trouble for Williams once. There’s a reason our staff has this a clean sweep for Hurd in the predictions.<doc-sep>Where to Watch: Hurd-Williams, Berchelt-Vargas 2 More Here’s where to watch the biggest and best fights on television and streaming platforms this weekend in the U.S., including the most important info such as time, location, platform, betting odds and notable undercard fights. All odds listed below come from New Jersey-based bookmaker 888sport. Friday, May 10, 2019 What: Abraham Nova (14-0, 10 Kos) vs. Mario Lozano (18-2-1, 9 KOs) Where: MGM Springfield, Springfield, Mass. Channel: UFC Fight Pass Time: 9:15 PM ET Synopsis: Young gun Nova was born in Puerto Rico and hails from Albany, NY. He has flashy fists, very much above average hand speed. The hitter is a super feather who has been taking on people with decent records. Lozano is being flown in from Argentina, and was stopped in his last outing, so fans of KOs might be in luck. Other bouts: William Foster (9-0) and Luis Arcon (6-0) are supposedly decent prospects, so you can check them out for yourself, in separate tangoes. What: Carlos Gongora (15-0, 12 KOs) vs. Damien Bonelli (23-6, 20 KOs) Where: MGM Springfield, Springfield, Mass. Channel: Facebook Fightnight Live Time: 8 PM ET Synopsis: Gongora, from Ecuador, took part in two Olympics and accumulated about 500 amateur bouts. He is chill as heck in the ring, and not everyone is sold on him as a prospect. He’s 30, so the clock is ticking a wee bit faster for him than others in the middleweight class. Other bouts: Fightnight Live brings you a bunch of up ‘n comers…or, maybe, never will bees. You see them early..and can make up your mind on their possible future arc. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————- What: Leigh Wood (21-1, 11 KOs) vs Ryan Doyle (17-3-1, 9 KOs) Where: Nottingham Arena, in Nottingham, England Channel: DAZN Time: 2 pm ET Odds: Wood -335, Doyle +245 Synopsis: Wood makes his first defense of the Commonwealth featherweight title he won by defeating Abraham Osei Bonsu in March. Now Wood takes on former Commonwealth titleholder Doyle. Wood hopes to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Carl Froch, by winning big in front of the Nottingham home crowd at the highest level of the sport. A win over Doyle would help him move forward in that quest. Other Bouts: The co-feature of his Matchroom Boxing card from across the pond features rising featherweight prospect Jordan Gill who takes on Mexico’s Enrique Tinoco. The card will also include pro debuts by Dalton Smith and Charles Frankham. —————————————————————————————————————————————————– What: Ruben Villa (15-0, 5 KOs) vs Luis Alberto Lopez (17-1, 8 KOs) Where: Omega Products International in Corona, California Channel: Showtime Time: 10:30 pm ET Odds: Villa -715, Lopez +450 Synopsis: Featherweight prospect Villa, 22, from Salina, California, hopes to someday be one of the slew of top fighters who made their names by fighting on a Shobox: The Next Generation card. Villa takes on once-beaten Lopez, from Mexico, in a must-win fight for the young fighter. After all, there are plenty of other fighters who fought on Shobox cards that never saw the light of day again because of upset losses or poor performances. Other Bouts: The Showtime card is a tripleheader. The other two fights include lightweight prospects Michael Dutchover and Zhora Hamazaryan in separate bouts. If you want to watch the rest of the undercard, you can stream it live at ThompsonBoxing.com. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————— Saturday, May 11, 2019 What: Jarrett Hurd (23-0, 16 KOs) vs Julian Williams (26-1-1, 16 KOs) Where: EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia Channel: Fox Time: 8 pm ET Odds: Hurd -590, Williams +400 Synopsis: Hurd, 28, of Accokeek, Maryland, has held the 154-pound IBF title since stopping current WBC champ Tony Harrison in February 2017. The popular, huge, pressure-cooking mauler defeated southpaw stylist Erislandy Lara by split-decision to unify the next year, helping Hurd become the fighter most people today believe is the best junior middleweight in the world. Williams, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has won four straight since being knocked out by Jermall Charlo in December 2016. Williams is a crafty, hard-punching boxer who is legitimately a live dog. While Hurd’s physical size has seemed to overwhelm many of his previous opponents, most of the better names on his resume were well over the age of 30. Williams is still physically in his prime and can really crack, so it should be a really competitive fight. Other Bouts: Matvey Korobov, 36, lost a spirited battle to Jermall Charlo in December 2018 in a fight many thought might better be scored as a draw. Regardless, Korobov proved he’s still probably very near elite status in terms of being a middleweight contender, so seeing him against 25-year-old Immanuwel Aleem in a showcase bout on national television is good news if you want to see the Russian-born Korobov in another big fight soon. Mario Barrios, 23, of San Antonio, Texas, and Juan Jose Velasco, 32, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, will also do battle in a 10-rounder featuring solid junior welterweights. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————- What: Miguel Berchelt (35-1, 31 KOs) vs Francisco Vargas (25-1-2, 18 KOs) Where: Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona Channel: ESPN Time: 10 pm ET Odds: Berchelt -1400, Vargas +700 Synopsis: It’s the hotly anticipated rematch between Berchelt and Vargas, who fought at a fevered pitch for close to eleven rounds in January 2017 before Berchelt gained the stoppage win. The win netted Berchelt the WBC junior lightweight title, a strap he’s defended four times since over solid competition. Now, Berchelt, 27, from Merida, Mexico, and Vargas, 34, Mexico City, Mexico, have unfinished business in what should be another intense battle between two of the best 130-pound fighters on the planet. Other Bouts: In co-feature, WBO junior featherweight titleholder Emanuel Navarrete gives an immediate rematch to Isaac Dogboe, whom he shockingly defeated by unanimous decision in December. Other fighters in action include rising lightweight prospect Fazliddin Gaibnazarov and rugged featherweight Miguel Marriaga. Watch Real Talk with Kelsey and Rachel on YouTube! It’s NyFights.com approved!<doc-sep>Julian Williams shocked Jarrett Hurd with a sweeping left hook to drop the unified IBF/WBA junior middleweight champion in the second round. The game challenger used the knockdown as an opening to absolutely smother Hurd the rest of the way through. Williams edged "Swift" in most of the bout's firefight sequences to score a unanimous decision (116-111, 115-112, 115-112) and become the new unified champion Saturday night. Sporting News scored it 116-111 in favor of Williams, who recorded the win at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Va., roughly 30 miles from Hurd's hometown of Accokeek, Md., adding insult to Hurd's first professional loss. Join DAZN and watch Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. on June 1 The rousing, convincing upset drove "J Rock" to tears in the ring as he realized his unwillingness to back down earned him paydirt in the form of two titles and perhaps a shot at the winner of next month's WBC championship match between Tony Harrison and Jermell Charlo. "The boxing world, they make it seem like fighters take a loss and they can't come back," said Williams (27-1-1, 16 KOs), who suffered his only pro loss against Jermall Charlo in December 2016. "And I just knew that wasn't the case." In scoring that second-round knockdown, Williams put Hurd on notice that his titles were in danger. Although the knockdown paved the way for an all-action firefight to erupt — and become a Fight of the Year candidate — Williams continued to apply pressure, especially with his uppercuts, which continuously split Hurd's guard and landed flush on the chin. Final punch stats also showed that Williams landed more punches. Here's how the Hurd-Williams card went (all times Eastern): Hurd vs. Williams main card Main event: Julian Williams convincingly defeats Jarrett Hurd by unanimous decision to become new IBF/WBA junior middleweight champ 10:52 p.m.: Williams wins by unanimous decision (116-111, 115-112, 115-112). He was the aggressor and got the best of Hurd in a majority of firefight sequences. Well-deserved. Round 12: Williams comes out stinging Hurd, but the champ is landing a barrage of shots with the challenger up against the ropes. Neither fighter is moving an inch, firing away. An overhand right and uppercut from Williams. That uppercut has been landing for Williams all night long. Two more uppercuts follow moments later. Both fighters are spent, but Williams seems to have a bit more left, as his punches are still landing with some pop. The bell tolls, with both Hurd and Williams firing shots at each other in what was a "Fight of the Year" kind of clash. What an all-action fight this was. (116-111 Williams) Round 11: Not one punch thrown has gone without an answer, or so it feels like in this all-action fight. Hurd is punching with everything he has left, but Williams still seemed to get the better of the shots. Will he pull out the victory? (106-102, Williams) Round 10: Hurd got knocked down early and you wonder how he's still standing in some of these rounds, as he has taken hard shots. A right hook from Williams had plenty of mustard on it here late in the 10th. (96-93, Williams) Round 9: Hurd getting right after it early here, but Williams right back with stinging punches. Ref briefly stops the action for Hurd's corner to retape his gloves and Williams owns the final 20 seconds with big shots to take the round. These are ultra-close rounds to score. (86-84, Williams) Round 8: Williams comes out chasing Hurd around the ring, getting the champ up against the ropes and landing some stiff shots. More than midway through the round and Williams is digging into Hurd with some uppercuts and body shots. Hurd fighting back in the round's final 20 seconds but Williams doesn't let the round end before peppering the champ with some punishing shots. He takes the round. (76-75, Williams) Round 7: Hurd getting the better of Williams here in the seventh, but this is a straight firefight. (66-66) Round 6: This time it's Hurd storming out of his corner and blasting Williams early as the game challenger tells the champ to bring it. Hurd is definitely making it a point to apply the pressure here in this round. He wins the frame, but not before Williams lands a stiff right hand to the body to give the champ something more to think about. What a fight this is. (57-56, Williams) Round 5: Williams continues to be all over Hurd, smothering the champ and giving him absolutely no breathing room. But Hurd is fighting back, stinging Williams with some solid shots to end the round. That has been the ebb and flow of these last couple of rounds, with Williams dominating early and Hurd coming on strong late. (48-46, Williams) Round 4: Williams with a left-right combo, checking Hurd's chin and two slick uppercuts that land flush seconds later. Williams is pretty relentless. An overhand right about 10 seconds before the bell sees the spit fly out of Hurd's mouth. (38-37, Williams) Round 3: Williams comes out all over Hurd to start the third, picking up where he left off. But Hurd battles back, landing a strong right hand to let Williams know that he's still the unified junior middleweight champ. (28-28) Round 2: Williams setting off fireworks here in the second, connecting on an overhand right of his own and following it up moments later with a left hook that drops Hurd. Williams landing more shots, as the round comes to a thankful end for Hurd. Wow. (19-18, Williams) With RD2 coming to an end @jrockboxing landed a 💥 while Hurd was pinned against the ropes, scoring the first knockdown of the fight. #HurdWilliams #PBConFOX pic.twitter.com/jekBoIG4LH — PBC (@premierboxing) May 12, 2019 Round 1: Hurd catches Williams with a sneaky overhand right to put the challenger on notice. (10-9, Hurd) 9:54 p.m.: Both Hurd and Williams have made their way to the ring and have been formally introduced, as the main event is just about to begin. 9:33 p.m.: Fox “PBC Fight Night” makes it official, announcing that Keith Thurman will face Manny Pacquiao with Thurman's WBA welterweight title on the line on July 20. Super middleweight champ Caleb Plant will defend his strap against Mike Lee in the main event of a PBC card on Fox the same date. The summer just got a little hotter! pic.twitter.com/SxcZsEauNq — Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) May 12, 2019 9:30 p.m.: That's Barrios' eighth straight knockout. He improves to 24-0 with 16 KOs. "El Azteca" says he's ready for a world title shot and wants all the smoke in the division. One look at this KO tonight and you should believe him. Co-main event: Mario Barrios blasts Juan Jose Velasco by second-round KO; junior welterweights Round 2: Just like that, this one is over, as Barrios catches Velasco with a nasty, stinging body shot. Velasco showed a delayed reaction before crumbling to the mat, unable to get up. . @boxer_barrios delivers a 🧨 left 🥊 to the body of Juan Jose Velasco early in RD2, dropping him and finishing him early. #PBConFOX #BarriosVelasco pic.twitter.com/U0KrAO0IWa — PBC (@premierboxing) May 12, 2019 Round 1: Both fighters trying to feel each other out early on here, with Barrios landing slightly more shots. (10-9, Barrios) 9:10 p.m.: Wow. So, minutes after announcing Korobov as the majority decision winner, it was just announced that the scores were added wrong and now the bout has been declared a majority draw! Bizarre. CORRECTION: There was a miscalculation in #KorobovAleem score cards. Two judges actually scored the fight as a draw, ruling the fight a majority DRAW. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #PBConFOX — PBC (@premierboxing) May 12, 2019 9 p.m.: Up next, we have the co-main event, as Mario Barrios takes on Juan Jose Velasco in junior welterweight action. Matt Korobov def. Immanuwel Aleem by majority decision, but later ruled a majority draw due to scoring error; middleweights 8:54 p.m.: Korobov gets the majority decision (97-93, 96-95, 95-95). Although he seemed to be losing steam toward the latter rounds, he should have gotten the unanimous decision. Still, a victory is a victory and Korobov will take it.<doc-sep>
If there has been a recurring theme in unified junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd's meteoric rise toward consideration among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, it's that nothing has come easy. Following a brief and rather nondescript amateur career, Hurd (23-0, 16 KOs) wasn't provided the luxury of the hand-picked matchmaking and hype that surrounds a typical future star. Yet for each difficult test placed in front of him -- from then-unbeaten prospect Frank Galarza in 2015 to current WBC champion Tony Harrison in his first title bout two years later -- Hurd came through with performances that just about leaped through the television screen. An impressive knockout of former champion Austin Trout followed to close 2017. Six months later, Hurd dropped long-reigning champion Erislandy Lara in Round 12 to cement a split-decision win that was voted the fight of the year. After surgery and a get-well fight to test his left shoulder out, Hurd returns on Saturday in a homecoming bout that is anything but a gimme fight. A native of nearby Accokeek, Maryland -- who, by the way, still proudly lives at home with his parents -- the 28-year-old Hurd will defend his IBF and WBA titles on Saturday against former title challenger Julian Williams (26-1-1, 16 KOs) in a Premier Boxing Champions card (8 p.m. ET, Fox, stream live on fuboTV) at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. Respect box? Subscribe to my podcast -- State of Combat with Brian Campbell -- where we take an in-depth look at the world of boxing each week, including a preview of Hurd vs. Williams and a recap of Canelo vs. Jacobs. The 29-year-old Williams, a gritty native of Philadelphia, brings the pedigree of a technical boxer and the backbone of a brawler, which has Hurd ready for anything that comes his way. "It's hard to tell what type of fight this is going to be," Hurd said. "I want to say that he's going to try to box, but I said that about Erislandy Lara and we saw that he stood toe-to-toe with me. Because of my size, I don't really think Julian Williams is going to try to do that. He's going to try to get his shots off and score points and make it through 12 rounds." There's a legitimate argument to make that Williams is the most underrated fighter in the division. Too many critics have focused on what happened during his lone title bout to date in 2016 when an uppercut from then-IBF champion Jermall Charlo knocked him down and led to a knockout loss shortly after in Round 5. The reality is that Williams was winning the fight (in his opinion, handily) before the time of the stoppage and happened to get caught with the wrong punch at the wrong time. "I don't know if I'm forgotten like some of these sports writers or experts might say," Williams said. "I wasn't going to let that happen. I know how boxing works. Losses happen. Knockouts happen. Just because you take a loss that doesn't mean you can't come back and be a great fighter. "You just get back up on the horse. You just can't stay down too long. So I just got back in there and got a couple of wins. I knew this time would be coming. Boxing's got a way of pushing people out that takes a loss. And it's like, 'Oh, they're done.' The loser's always done." Williams has bounced back with four straight wins since the loss to Charlo, including two by knockout, and firmly has the attention of Hurd as far as what type of challenge to expect. "The most dangerous I would say is his inside game. He has a great inside game," Hurd said. "People maybe underestimate it a little bit but he does great things inside with his hands and how he places his shots. He sneaks them in there. He does a lot of good work in the inside. He also works good on the outside but his inside work is the most dangerous." Fight card, odds Favorite Underdog Weightclass Jarrett Hurd (c) -700 Julian Williams +500 Junior middleweight titles Mario Barrios -1250 Juan Jose Velasco +600 Super lightweight Matt Korobov -303 Immanuwel Aleem +225 Middleweight The danger awaiting Williams, of course, surrounds the almost absurd combination of Hurd's size and stamina for the division.