BROOKLYN, New York – For Jarrett Hurd, it was death by a thousand overhand rights.

Johan Gonzalez defeated the former unified junior middleweight titleholder by split decision on Saturday night here at Barclays Center. Two judges saw it for Gonzalez, 36-4 (34 KOs), at 98-92 and 96-94, while the third had it 96-94 for Hurd, 25-4-1 (17 KOs).

The fight appeared as undercard support for the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Jnr main event.

From the opening round, it was clear that the 34-year-old Hurd did not have the legs to avoid the big punches coming his way. Hurd walked lock-legged at the 33-year-old Gonzalez, who consistently beat Hurd to the punch with overhand rights. By the third round, Hurd’s eyes were puffed, partially from the punches and some from the headbutts coming his way. The punches began to wear on Hurd by the sixth round, as he was backed into the ropes for the first time, looking to land one counter that could turn the fight around.

That punch never came. What Hurd lacked in snap with his punches, he tried to make up for with heart and courage, continuing to try to land big shots, however slow they were coming out. Hurd, of Accokeek, Maryland, finally got the crowd into the fight in the eighth as he made a brave stand, swinging wildly with big punches that caught the attention of Gonzalez, a Las Vegas-based Venezuelan.

Sensing the fight slipping away from him, Hurd made one final push in the ninth, emptying the tank as he looked to score a knockout. Gonzalez weathered the storm and pushed the action in the 10th against an exhausted Hurd, who appeared on the verge of being stopped with about a minute left in the fight. Hurd survived and left Gonzalez with a few punches before the bell rang.

Afterwards, Hurd acknowledged that it was time for him to hang up his gloves, bringing a halt to a 12-year pro career.

“I’m a man of my word, so … this will be the last time you’ll see me,” said Hurd after the fight.

The loss sends Hurd to a record of 2-4-1 in his last seven fights, after starting his career at 23-0. His biggest wins came in the 2010s, when he stopped Tony Harrison to win the vacant IBF junior middleweight title in 2017 and then defeated Erislandy Lara by split decision the following year in a Fight of the Year contender to unify the WBA belt. After the Lara fight, Hurd knocked out Jason Welborn in four rounds, before his career downturn began in 2019 with a unanimous decision loss to Julian Williams.

It was a career-best win for Gonzalez, who was coming off a seventh-round stoppage loss to Yoenis Tellez last October.

Earlier on the undercard, David Whitmire, 9-0 (6 KOs), defeated Angel Munoz, 7-1 (5 KOs), by unanimous decision in a battle of unbeaten welterweights, winning by 60-54 on all three cards.

Dwyke Flemmings Jnr, 10-0 (9 KOs), went the distance for the first time as a pro, defeating Florent Dervis, 10-3 (5 KOs), by the unanimous scores of 60-53.

Cristian Cangelosi, 10-0 (5 KOs), defeated Jarrod Tennant, 9-4 (4 KOs), by an eight-round unanimous decision in their junior middleweight bout.

Junior welterweight prospect Deric Davis, 6-0 (6 KOs), scored a first-round stoppage of Jamal Johnson, 2-1 (1 KO), dropping him twice before the fight was stopped with 1 minute and 56 seconds left in the round.

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.