Fit To Be Tied: Jarrett Hurd, Jeison Rosario Fight To Ten-Round Draw
Jarrett Hurd and Jeison ‘Banana’ Rosario were fit to be tied.
The pair of former unified WBA/IBF 154-pound titleholders fought to a ten-round split decision draw. Their bout above the middleweight limit saw each boxer claim a score of 96-94. Judge Jed O’Connor (95-95) failed to find a winner in their ProBox TV main event Wednesday evening from ProBox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Hurd fought largely behind the jab in the early rounds. A methodical approach was taken by the former unified titlist from Accokeek, Maryland. Rosario played defense, a wise tactic given his sordid history of collapsing once he gets hurt. The 29-year-old Dominican stood directly in front of Hurd but was never in real danger at any point in the fight.
The closest to any drama along those lines came midway through the fight. Hurd fell through the ropes after Rosario inadvertently drove him with his shoulder. Once action resumed, Hurd connected with a right hand, left hook, right hand combination. Rosario’s legs briefly did a dance but he quickly regained his composure.
Rosario picked up the pace in round seven. Hurd’s already deliberate offensive attack was slowed as Rosario applied steady pressure. It spilled over into the eighth before Hurd returned to the jab to control much of round nine.
The tenth and final round saw Rosario walk forward and attempt to force an aggressive pace. It was an approach that needed to be adopted by Hurd, who all but gave away the round—and with it, what would have been a win.
At his best, Hurd was among the top junior middleweights in the world. He held the IBF belt from 2017-2019 and added the WBA strap during his reign. It came to an end in a May 2019 points defeat to Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams in the greater Washington D.C. area, near his hometown.
Rosario won the belts in a fifth-round knockout of Williams in Jan. 2020. He lost to Jermell Charlo via eighth-round knockout in their Sept. 2020 RING, WBC, WBA and IBF championship. Rosario suffered three defeats in a six-fight span but has now won and drew in his past two starts.
Hurd was favored to win on Wednesday and it’s his stock who greater declined as a result. He is now just 1-3-1 in his last five fights.
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