Jarrett Hurd vs Julian Williams Preview May 11th
Unbeaten IBF, IBO, and WBA Jr. Middleweight Champion Jarrett Hurd of Maryland, USA will be defending his titles against Julian Williams of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this Saturday, May 11th The 12-round bout takes place at the EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia and can be seen live in the UK on ITV 4 while North American fans can catch it Fox and Fox Deportes. Hurd last fought in December when he stopped Jason Welborn in the fourth round. Williams last outing also came in December when he stopped Francisco Castro in the second round.
Hurd vs Williams Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Julian Williams +499
- Jarrett Hurd -664
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 won the IBO and WBA crowns by beating Erislandy Lara by split decision in April, 2018 and then defended all the titles against Welborn. Hurd enters the bout with a perfect record of 23-0 with 16 Kos.
Hurd turned pro back in 2012 and has 114 rounds of experience since then. He’s a former three-time Golden Gloves winner in Washington D.C and has 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 70 per cent. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a reach of 76.5 inches.
Hurd is 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 Williams, he’s 29 years old and owns a fine record of 26-1-1 with 16 Kos to his name. His lone loss was a fifth-round KO at the hands of former IBF World Champion Jermall Charlo in December of 2016 while his draw was a six-round affair with Francisco Santana in 2011. Williams also fought a no-contest with Hugo Centeno Jr. when the bout was halted in the fourth round due to an accidental head butt. He turned pro in 2010 and has 159 rounds of experience under his belt since then.
Williams stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a reach of 72.5 inches which makes him about two inches shorter than Hurd with a four-inch reach disadvantage. He has decent power with a current knockout ratio of 55 per cent. There are a few other familiar names on Williams’ opponent list up to now other than Charlo and Centeno Jr. such as Ishe Smith, Joey Hernandez, Eliezer Gonzalez, Freddy Hernandez and Joachim Alcine.
Prediction…
Williams’ chin was somewhat exposed against Charlo and that won’t help him against a hard hitter like Hurd. The champion also has a solid chin and although he’s better at brawling than boxing he should be able to defend his crown against a determined Williams.
Hurd’s relentless and has a better chin.
Play: Hurd -664 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Jarrett Hurd betting • Julian Williams betting