By Keith Idec
Tony Harrison wants an opportunity to avenge his loss to Jarrett Hurd.
If Harrison beats Jermell Charlo in their immediate rematch and Hurd gets past Julian Williams on Saturday night, a Harrison-Hurd rematch would be a fight for all but one of boxing’s recognized 154-pound championships. Harrison is confident only he’ll hold up his end of that deal.
The WBC super welterweight champion picked Williams to upset Hurd in their 12-round fight for Hurd’s IBF, IBO and WBA championships. FOX will air Hurd-Williams as the main event of a tripleheader Saturday from EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).
Harrison anticipates a very competitive bout, but one Williams will win because of his higher skill level and what Williams learned from losing his first title fight. Like Harrison versus Hurd, Williams was knocked out in his initial championship match by Jermall Charlo in December 2016.
“I think it’s gonna be a very close fight,” Harrison told BoxingScene.com. “But I always go with the guy that can get a second shot at something. Basically, what Julian Williams got was a trial run, because he got a title shot and lost. So, he got a trial run and now he understands. Same thing as me – I got a trial run, when I fought Hurd. And I understood the steps that I took that was wrong, and I capitalized on it. So, I’m gonna go with the guy that took the trial run and is able to do it again. Plus, he has the better skill set, so I like him to kind of eke it out in the fight.”
Houston’s Charlo (28-0, 21 KOs) knocked out Williams in the fifth round of their fight for the IBF junior middleweight title Hurd won two months later against Harrison, once Charlo gave it up to advance to the middleweight division. That’s the lone loss of Williams’ nine-year pro career (26-1-1, 16 KOs, 1 NC).
Philadelphia’s Williams is 4-0 since losing to Charlo, including points wins against Ishe Smith and Nathaniel Gallimore. Hurd, of Accokeek, Maryland, has beaten former champions Erislandy Lara and Austin Trout since he stopped Harrison, but Harrison still favors Williams to fend off the bigger Hurd (23-0, 16 KOs).
“I’ve always been an advocate on skills pay the bills,” Harrison said. “I think it’s a really close fight. I think Jarrett Hurd has a totally different style than anybody in the division. I think Julian Williams’ skill set is a lot more superior. Like I said, nobody’s unbeatable. I think it’s a great fight. I think by like an inch, maybe a centimeter, Julian Williams might be able to get it.”
FOX also will air the rematch between Detroit’s Harrison (28-2, 21 KOs) and Houston’s Jermell Charlo (31-1, 15 KOs) on June 23 from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
