By Keith Idec
Erislandy Lara weighed more than Jarrett Hurd when the 154-pound champions stepped on the scale Friday in Las Vegas.
Hurd’s significant size advantage over Lara was very obvious, however, when they stood face to face at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The 6-feet-1 Hurd stands four inches taller than Lara, who’s a slight favorite to win their 12-round super welterweight title unification fight Saturday night.
The 27-year-old Hurd (21-0, 15 KOs), the IBF junior middleweight champion, officially weighed in at 153 pounds. The 34-year-old Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs), the WBA and IBO super welterweight champ, was 153½ pounds when he stepped on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s scale.
The bout between Hurd, of Accokeek, Maryland, and the long-reigning Lara, a Cuban southpaw who resides in Houston, will headline Showtime’s tripleheader (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).
“Listen, they over here saying I’m not ready,” Hurd told Showtime’s Steve Farhood following the weigh-in. “I went through top contenders, to top Olympians, to top former title challengers. And then I fought a former world champion [Austin Trout]. Now I’m facing a world champion. I’m more than ready. This is my time right now. I cannot wait to get on that stage and show the world why I’m asking for this fight.”
Just before Hurd and Lara made weight, Caleb Truax and James DeGale came in below the super middleweight limit for the second of three fights Showtime will air Saturday night.
The 34-year-old Truax (29-3-2, 18 KOs), of Osseo, Minnesota, weighed 167¾ pounds for the first defense of the IBF super middleweight title he won by upsetting DeGale on December 9 in London. The 32-year-old DeGale (23-2-1, 14 KOs), of St. Albans, England, officially came in at 167¼ pounds.
DeGale is a 4-1 favorite entering their immediate rematch, even though Truax beat him on two of three scorecards to win a majority decision nearly four months ago (116-112, 115-112, 114-114).
Julian Williams and Nathaniel Gallimore also made weight Friday for their IBF junior middleweight elimination match. Their 12-round, 154-pound bout will open Showtime’s three-bout broadcast Saturday night.
Philadelphia’s Williams (24-1-1, 15 KOs, 1 NC) officially weighed in exactly at the division’s limit of 154 pounds. Gallimore (20-1-1, 17 KOs), a native Jamaican who fights out of Evanston, Illinois, weighed 153 pounds.
The winner between the fifth-ranked Williams, 28, and the fourth-ranked Gallimore, 29, will move closer to a title shot at the winner of the Lara-Hurd battle.
Gallimore held a box of Fruity Pebbles on stage as he mocked Williams’ nickname, “J-Rock.”
“He’s a fruit,” Gallimore said. “He ain’t serious. He ain’t no rock. I’m gonna eat him come Saturday. There’s nothing about it.”
Williams offered to bet their entire purses on their bout, but Gallimore wasn’t interested in that wager.
“We could do one thing, we could bet his purse,” Williams said. “Let’s bet your purse right now. Listen, I don’t wanna fight [now]. I wanna fight tomorrow. Let’s bet your purse. I’m talking about your whole purse, and when I beat your ass, nobody gets paid. Let’s bet the purse. Where’s the manager? Come on. Let’s shake on it. Let’s shake.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
