Miami Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida – Former unified 154-pound champion Jarrett Hurd (24-2, 16 KOs) was shocked when announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. announced Luis Arias (19-2-1, 9 KOs) as the winner of their ten round contest.
After an action-packed fight, the scores were 95-94 for Hurd, 97-93 for Arias and 96-93 for Arias.
Hurd was fighting for the first time since January 2020, when he won a ten round decision over Francisco Santana.
This outcome marked his second loss in his last three fights.
The fight began at a very rapid pace, with Arias letting his hands go often and tagging up Hurd during many exchanges.
Hurd was able to score a flash knockdown during the ninth, but he was never able get a consistent run of offense going.
His defense was also lacking, with Arias landing a lot of his power punches – especially to the head.
Traditionally, Hurd is a very slow-starter and gradually breaks down his opponent in the second half of the contest.
This time around, Arias was able to build up a solid lead and never stopped punching until the final bell.
Hurd felt that he did enough to squeeze out a win on the scorecards, but at the same time he admits that his performance was lackluster.
“I’m not sure what went wrong tonight. I believe I won the fight. I had a knockdown. I could make a hundred excuses but it wasn’t a great performance,” Hurd said.
“The plan coming out in the first round was to box. I wasn’t as confident in my feet as the rain came down, so I had to go toe-to-toe more. That wasn’t really what we trained for, so I was a bit sloppy.
“I’ll take the rematch at whatever weight. I know I’m the better man.”