In his heart, Jarrett Hurd wanted the immediate rematch Julian Williams was contractually obligated to give him to be his next fight.
Ultimately, Hurd had to use his head, he says, not his heart, when he decided to pass on the immediate rematch he was owed. Now it’s up to Williams to decide whether to grant Hurd an opportunity to win back the IBF, IBO and WBA 154-pound championships he won from Hurd on May 11 in Fairfax, Virginia.
Hurd hopes that if he and Williams win their respective fights in January that Williams will agree to fight him next.
Williams (27-1-1, 16 KOs, 1 NC) is set to defend his titles against the Dominican Republic’s Jeison Rosario (19-1-1, 13 KOs) on January 18 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Williams’ hometown. A week later, Hurd (23-1, 16 KOs) will fight for the first time since Williams upset him, against Francisco Santana (25-7-1, 12 KOs) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“I would love for it to happen after this fight with Santana,” Hurd told BoxingScene.com on Wednesday following a press conference at Barclays Center. “Hopefully he’ll accept it. With me declining the rematch clause, it’s no longer up to me. It’s up to him to do it. He has to exercise the rematch clause. So, it’ll all be up to him. It’s his decision on the rematch. After this fight, I would love to take that rematch. But he don’t have to fight me. I would have to work my way back up then.”
The 29-year-old Hurd parted ways with longtime trainer Ernesto Rodriguez following his loss to Williams. Hurd didn’t initiate that split, but he said he hired Kay Koroma as his new trainer once Rodriguez demanded that Hurd eliminate everyone else from his team if they were to continue working together.
As much as Hurd wanted to win back his titles in an immediate rematch with Williams, the Accokeek, Maryland, native didn’t think it would’ve been smart to face Williams right away while working with a different trainer for the first time. Hurd understands the criticism he has taken for passing on the immediate rematch, but he is comfortable with his decision.
“It was tougher for me to not take [the rematch] than to actually take the [first] fight [with Williams],” Hurd said. “I was talking to Andre Ward. He came to me and said, ‘Man, people don’t really give you the credit for making that decision you made, man.’ We’re fighters, man. It’s hard for us to go through something like that, especially in front of my hometown fans. Not getting that back and having to swallow that pill, I really just had to accept the simple fact that it wasn’t the best decision to go into a fight like this.
“I had to be smart about the situation. Even though some things are better for us, we still wanna make the wrong decision because of our pride. I had to swallow my pride and do what was smart for me, knowing that going into [an immediate rematch] in the condition I was in wouldn’t be smart.”
If Williams and Hurd win on back-to-back Saturdays in fights FOX and Showtime will televise respectively next month, now Hurd has no choice but to wait to learn what Williams decides to do next.
“I’m hoping, man,” Hurd said of a rematch. “I was willing to give him the shot. You know, I was holding two different titles and I had two mandatories, and I chose to fight Julian Williams. Hopefully he’ll give me the same opportunity to get my titles back.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
