Written by Shaun Cross
Former world champion Jarrett Hurd slid between the ropes at the Toyota Center in Ontario, California, Saturday night to fight Armando Resendez in a 10-round middleweight title draw. 24-2 Hurd was wary at first while 13-1 Resendez appeared to apply pressure. Resendez continued to fight close against Hurd in the second. In fact, he was the most aggressive of the fighters.
Hurd fired shots at his own man in the third period, while Resendez kept playing hard. It was a tough, fast-paced fight all around. The fourth was a very intense affair. Both men shot and landed well – but Hurd landed the most effective shots. Action resumed in the fifth, with Resendez’s output possibly giving him the advantage. Each fighter did as well in a fast paced shade 6 as the previous few rounds.
Resendez looked as if he was going to really get to Hurd in the last minute of the seventh, though Hurd definitely held on tight. Hurd appeared to have little left when Resendez got him to the ropes at the end of the eighth inning. It was now worth asking whether Hurd would have been able to make the last bell. The ninth certainly saw Heard, positively giving it his all. But Resendez was proving too much for him.
The referee asked the Ring Doctor to look at Hurd at the start of the tenth inning. The doctor had two little words to say after studying Heard for a second or two: “Stop it.” And that was the end of the fighting.
