Erislandy Lara will prove size doesn’t matter against Jarrett Hurd
Erislandy Lara is the WBA and IBO super welterweight champion, but he faces a much bigger man in Jarrett Hurd. Lara will rely on skills and IQ to win the day.
On Saturday, April 7, boxing veteran Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs) will try to take Jarrett Hurd’s (21-0, 15 KOs) IBF title. Hurd is a massive super welterweight and has a perfect record, but Lara will likely add a loss to Hurd’s record.
When the two men stand toe to toe, this fight looks like a mismatch. At 6-foot-1, Hurd has a four-inch height advantage over Lara. Hurd looks big for a middleweight, but he’s able to make the super welterweight limit. If height, reach and size were the only deciding factors in a fight, then Hurd would be a massive betting favorite. At the moment, he’s not.
According to the Sports Book Review, Lara is a very slight favorite at -130 odds. Hurd’s size, perfect record and previous performance against Austin Trout have the odds close. There are a lot of reasons to like Hurd in this fight regardless of his size advantage.
Hurd is seven years younger than Lara and has a two and a half-inch reach advantage. He has every physical advantage over Lara. His perfect record gives him a lot of confidence. He has a 75 percent knockout rating compared to Lara’s 48 percent.
Hurd lacks amateur experience, but he’s made up for it with a flawless boxing record. He shows growth in every fight. He’s a quick learner and has a lot of untapped potential.
With so much promise and all the physical assets on Hurd’s side, Lara is still likely to win.
At 34 years old, time isn’t on Lara’s side, but he has the edge in boxing experience. Lara was the captain of the amateur Cuban National Team in 2005. He’s a former amateur world champion. Lara has 10 years of professional experience, while Hurd has less than six years in as a pro.
Lara has fought some excellent boxers, but Hurd’s resume is lacking. His only notable victory came against Austin Trout.
Lara has two losses and two draws on his record, but he’s never been knocked out, and they were all close fights. Lara lost to Canelo Alvarez by split decision in 2014. Many believe that he deserved to win that fight.
His only other loss came against Paul Williams in 2011 by majority decision. This decision was also controversial. Paul Williams was about the same size as Hurd and actually has a longer reach. Lara proved that he can compete with bigger boxers.
Williams was a more skilled boxer than Hurd is currently. Williams was a tricky southpaw with power and skill. Hurd has good power, but he’s still adding skill and finesse to his game.
Lara is a boxer, not a knockout artist. He possesses a technical Cuban style, and he’s a southpaw. Orthodox boxers tend to struggle against southpaws, but Hurd looked good against Trout who’s a southpaw. There’s a world of difference between Lara’s skillset and Trout’s.
Lara will look to outbox Hurd. He will fight cautiously throughout the fight, but he’ll increase his work rate as needed in later rounds. Hurd has never been 12 rounds before, so Lara probably expects Hurd to wilt in the later rounds. Lara, on the other hand, has gone 12 rounds on seven different occasions. Hurd will be as good as his conditioning.
The fact that Hurd has never experienced a 12-round fight is the deciding factor in this matchup. Hurd will be the aggressor, and he will throw more punches than Lara. Lara has to make Hurd miss. He will pace his punch output and will look to steal the later rounds.
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Lara’s experience and crafty style should win him a tough fought decision. Hurd has a bright future ahead of him, but he lacks Lara’s boxing wisdom.