Jarrett Hurd vs Jason Welborn Preview Dec. 1st
Unbeaten IBF, IBO, and WBA Jr. Middleweight Champion Jarrett Hurd of Maryland, USA will be defending his titles against Jason Welborn of Tivdale, England this Saturday, December 1st. The 12-round bout takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on the undercard of the Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury tilt. The contest can be seen live in the UK on BT Sport Box Office while American fans can catch it on Showtime PPV and Canadians can see it live on PPV. Hurd won the IBO and WBA crowns by beating Erislandy Lara by split decision in April. Welborn last boxed in September when he defended his British Middleweight Title by split decision over Tommy Langford for the second straight time.
Hurd vs Welborn Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jason Welborn +3168
- Jarrett Hurd -9091
My Pick
The 28-year-old Hurd won the vacant IBF title in February, 2017 when he stopped Tony Harrison in the ninth round and defended it for the first time against Austin Trout eight months later when Trout couldn’t come out for the 11th round. Hurd enters the bout with a perfect record of 22-0 with 15 Kos. He turned pro back in 2012 and has 110 rounds of experience since then. He’s a former three-time Golden Gloves winner in Washington D.C. He’s managed to beat opponents such as Lara, Harrison, Trout, Ionut Dan Ion, Oscar Molina, Frank Galarza and Eric Mitchell.
What Hurd also has going for him right now is better-than-average power with a knockout ratio of 68 per cent. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a reach of 76.5 inches. He’s a relatively low key and underrated boxer who is quite fan friendly. His bout against Lara was one of the best of the year and he also managed to drop the former champion in the 12th round to insure the victory. He’s pretty tall for a junior middleweight and is just as comfortable at brawling as he is at boxing.
As for Welborn, he’s 32 years old and owns a somewhat unremarkable record of 24-6 with just 7 Kos and he’s been stopped three times. However, he’s the British Middleweight Champion and has also won the WBC International Silver Middleweight Crown in the past as well as some regional British titles. Unfortunately there’s no height and reach information on Welborn, but we do know he’s fought several times as a middleweight.
He doesn’t have much at all in the way of power with a current knockout ratio of just 23 per cent and his chin is unsteady as he’s been stopped by Liam Smith in 2014, Frankie Gavin in 2013 and Tyan Booth in 2006. He’s also lost by decisions to Craig Cunningham and William Warburton in 2016 and to Matthew Macklin in 2015. This will be Welborn’s first shot at a world title and his biggest wins so far have been against Langford, and Scott Haywood.
Prediction…
Welborn has been beaten when stepping up in class against the likes of Frankie Gavin, Matthew Macklin and Liam Smith and I’m not really sure how he’s earned a title shot here. With just seven knockouts in 30 fights and the owner of a shaky chin it’ll take a hell of an effort to beat Hurd. I don’t think he’ll be able to pull it off though. Look for Hurd to keep his belts.
I’m not sure how Welborn earned this title shot and he’s not in the same class as Hurd.
Play: Hurd -9091 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Jarrett Hurd betting • Jason Welborn betting