(Photo courtesy of Showtime)
Accokeek, MD's "Swift" Jarrett Hurd has unified the WBA/IBF/IBO 154-pound championship in an outstanding contest, defeating "The American Dream" Erislandy Lara of Houston, TX by way of Guantanamo, Cuba by split decision at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
For the most part, it was a typical Hurd bout in which he took solid shots from Lara early. In the middle rounds, Hurd started to break Lara down and land shots. However, Lara was very game and, where other boxers wilted under Hurd's late pressure, Lara kept coming and continued to land shots at times in the late rounds.
The bout may have turned for good in the 12th and final round when Hurd landed a crushing left hook that dropped Lara to the canvas with less than a minute to go. Lara got up and even landed shots at the end but the knockdown gave Hurd the victory.
Judge Burt Clements saw the bout 114-113 for Lara but judges Glenn Feldman and Dave Moretti saw the contest 114-113 for Hurd, who remains undefeated at 22-0, 15 KO's. Lara falls to 25-3-2, 14 KO's.
Hurd becomes the first Beltway Boxer since Lamont Peterson to hold two world titles at the same time. Peterson won the IBF and WBA Super Lightweight titles when he defeated Amir Khan in December of 2011 at the Washington Convention Center. Hurd is also the seventh man in division history to unify portions of the 154-pound title, joining International Boxing Hall of Famers Terry Norris, Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Winky Wright, along with two future hall of famers in Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Canelo Alvarez.
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