Lara-Hurd is on! WBA world junior middleweight champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara and IBF counterpart “Swift” Jarrett Hurd both made weight ahead of tomorrow night’s 154lb. unification bout from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
WBA and IBF 154-Pound World Championship Unification
Erislandy Lara – 153 ½
Jarrett Hurd – 153
Referee: Kenny Bayless; Judges: Burt Clements (Nev.), Glenn Feldman (Conn.), Dave Moretti (Nev.)
IBF Super Middleweight World Championship Rematch
Caleb Truax – 167 ¾
James DeGale – 167 ¼
Referee: Robert Byrd; Judges: Robert Hoyle (Nev.), John McKaie (N.Y.), Don Trella (Conn.)
IBF Junior Middleweight World Title Eliminator
Julian Williams – 154
Nathaniel Gallimore – 153
Referee: Tony Weeks; Eric Cheek (Nev.), Max Deluca (Calif.), Patricia Morse Jarman (Nev.)
FLASH QUOTES:
ERISLANDY LARA: “He’s not in the top 10 fighters I’ve fought. I fight for my family and for my kids. And that belt is coming home with my kids.”
JARRETT HURD: “They are over here saying I’m not ready. I went from fighting a top contender to an Olympian to another world champion contender to a former world champion and now fighting a world champion. I’m more than ready. This is my time right now. I’m ready to get on that stage and show the world why I’ve been asking for this fight. We know he’s going to use the entire ring, but you can’t run from ‘Swift’ Jarrett Hurd for 12 rounds. We know we are going to be in his face and know he’ll have to engage at some point.”
CALEB TRUAX: “I thought I did the job pretty well last time and beat him pretty convincingly. From what I see I’m a 6-to-1 underdog, so there are a lot of people who are going to make some money on me. There are some things that I could have done better, and there are things that he could have done better. So I’ll be prepared for those things and adapt to whatever he throws at me.”
JAMES DeGALE: “I don’t know why [I’m favored]. The boxing people know that I’m above Truax. He did the job, so you’ve got to give the man the credit. But I believe I’m so much better than him and on Saturday night I have a chance to get back my title and show the world that I’m back. My career is in the balance right now. If I lose, where do I go? For the past two and a half years I was the world champion and I fought the best and I got the results. Then I lost to a guy that is not on my level. I’m so honest to myself and I’m very real, and if I can’t deal with Truax in a good way, then we’ll have to see.”
JULIAN WILLIAMS: “I don’t really care about it getting personal, but we could do one thing: we could bet his purse. Let’s bet the purse. I’m talking about the whole purse. Where’s your manager? I don’t want to fight now, I want to fight tomorrow.”
NATHANIEL GALLIMORE: “[Holding a box of Fruity Pebbles cereal]. He ain’t serious. He ain’t no rock. I’m gonna eat him come Saturday. Saturday night you’re going to have to tune-in to see it. It’s going to be a fight to remember, but it’s not going to go the distance.”
