Jarrett Hurd and Jeison ‘Banana’ Rosario suited up to tie.
The pair of former unified WBA/IBF 154-pound titleholders fought to split a ten-round draw. With their bout above the middleweight limit, each boxer scored a score of 96-94. Judge Jed O’Connor (95-95) couldn’t find a winner in their ProBox TV main event Wednesday night from ProBox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Hurd fought largely from behind in the early rounds. A methodical approach was taken by the former United Title List of Accokeek, Maryland. Rosario played defense, a wise tactic given his ridiculous history of collapsing once hurt. The 29-year-old Dominican stood directly in front of Hurd, but was never in real danger at any point in the fight.
The closest to any drama along those lines came midway through the fight. Hurd fell through the ropes after Rosario accidentally drove him with his shoulder. Once action resumed, Hurd connected with a right hand, left hook and right hand combination. Rosario’s legs briefly did a dance, but he quickly regained his composure.
Rosario picked up the pace in lap seven. Hurd’s already deliberate offensive attack was slowed as Rosario applied steady pressure. That spilled into the eighth before Hurd returned to the jab to control much of round nine.
In the tenth and final round, Rosario stepped forward and tried to force an aggressive pace. It was an approach that should have been taken by Hurd, which almost gave away the round – and with it, what would have been a victory.
At his best, Hurd was among the top junior middleweights in the world. He held the IBF belt from 2017-2019 and added the WBA belt during his reign. This came to an end in a May 2019 points loss to Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams in the greater Washington DC area, close to his hometown.
Rosario won the belts in a fifth round knockout of Williams in January 2020. He lost to Jermell Charlo by eighth round knockout in their September 2020 RING, WBC, WBA and IBF Championship. Rosario suffered three losses in a six-fight span but now has a win and a draw in his past two starts.
Hurd was favored to win on Wednesday and it’s his stock that dropped more as a result. He is now just 1-3-1 in his last five fights.
