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Posted on 04/27/2021
By: Hans Themistode
For nearly a year and a half, Jarrett Hurd would simply shrug his shoulders whenever he was asked when he would return to the ring. Still, even without a concrete date, the former unified 154-pound champion worked steadily on his craft. Now, after waiting patiently, it appears as though he’ll return to the ring in just a matter of months.
According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, both Hurd and fringe contender Luis Arias, are currently deep in negotiations for a showdown that would take place on the undercard of the recently announced Floyd Mayweather vs Jake Paul exhibition matchup on June 6th. Although no deal has yet been finalized, both sides appear to be headed towards the finished line.
Jamie Munguia vs Maciej Sulęcki is back on for the summer after their original date fell through.
Munguia was set to face Sulecki in a middleweight contest on April 23 before the latter had to withdraw due to an injury. D’Mitrius Ballard was briefly installed as a replacement before he, too, suffered an injury and was forced to withdraw.
Many considered Sulecki to be the more interesting opponent for Munguia, and all things considered Sulecki is a serviceable test for his third fight at a new weight class. Munguia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya expressed his excitement for the return of one of his young stars.
Berlanga can add to his streak when he faces Demond Nicholson on Saturday in Kissimmee, Florida, in the co-feature bout of WBO featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete s title defense against Christopher Diaz (10 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+). If Berlanga scores another first-round KO, he will have the fourth-longest run ever to begin a pro career, with boxing history within reach. Junior flyweights Ali Raymi, who died in 2015 at the age of 41, owns the record with first-round knockouts in his first 21 bouts, followed by junior middleweight Tyrone Brunson with 19 and the late two-division champion Edwin Valero with 18.
For Berlanga, though, the focus this weekend will be on simply achieving victory No. 17, not on extending his streak. He ll be looking to once again show off his lethal efficiency and get a KO, but he s not concerned about when the finish will come.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Triller
Saturday was packed with fights of all credibility and weirdness, from world champions to social media celebrities. So what’s next for some of the notables we saw in action yesterday?
Jake Paul
The guy who’s calling him out right now is Joe Fournier, the billionaire (reported (by himself), I don’t know or care really) entrepreneur who has had nine pro fights sort of at the same level Jake Paul has three pro fights. Fournier fought on Saturday, too, beating reggaeton artist Reykon via TKO after two rounds. Reykon had no clue what he was doing, but that about equals the guys Paul has fought.