Jarrett Hurd and Jeison Rosario in a must-win fight on ProBox TV

Jarrett Hurd may still have a good fight in him.

Hurd will face Jeison Rosario on Wednesday night at the Whitesands (also known as ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida. The 10-round middleweight bout will be the highlight of a four-fight card that will stream live on the ProBox TV app and YouTube page (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).

The Hurd-Rosario fight is an exciting battle between former middleweight (154 pounds) world champions. Chris Glover of ProBox TV believes the fight will be a fireworks display as both are in the final stages of their careers and the winner will have more lucrative opportunities.

“This is the type of fight where the loser is likely to quit,” Glover told The Ring early Tuesday morning. “It's about who has more left. It's a good fight. Thanks again to (promoter) Sampson (Lewkowicz) for always being helpful and representing Jeison Rosario.”

“It's going to be a shootout. It's going to be two guys going at it. They're going to try to prove they can get back at it. The middleweight division is wide open. There are a lot of ways to fight (for a world title). The loser may not find himself in a position to keep fighting. That's the way it is.”

Hurd (25-3, 17 KOs), who lives in Accokeek, Maryland, is best known for his thrilling split decision win over Erislandy Lara in April 2018. Hurd successfully defended his IBF title and won the WBA title from Lara.

After defending his world title, Hurd lost a unanimous decision to Julian Williams in May 2019. After defeating Francisco Santana over six months later, Hurd did not fight for over a year, losing a split decision to Luis Arias.

Hurd, 33, returned to the ring on March 4 last year and lost to Jose Resendiz by knockout in the 10th round in an action fight. The fight was stopped on the advice of the ringside doctor as Hurd suffered a severe cut to his lip. Entering the final round, Hurd was trailing 87-84, 87-84 and 89-82.

In his last fight on December 8, Hurd stopped Tyi Edmonds after the fourth round. Glover believes that despite recent setbacks, an impressive win by Hurd could put him in contention among the best in the 160-pound division.

“If Jarrett comes back and looks good against Rosario, he obviously has a good chance of having a big fight in the 160-pound division,” Glover said. “I'm really excited about that opportunity. And it's exciting to see someone like Jarrett Hurd on ProBox TV. He's always in action and never has a bad fight. These two unified world champions go to war and show they still have something. It's a great fight.”

Rosario (24-4-1, 18 KOs), originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and now based in Miami, Florida, also picked up a win in his last fight, stopping Israel Valerio Nina in the second round on November 10. In his previous fight in November 2022, Rosario was stopped in the fifth round by Brian Mendoza.

After winning the unified world title belt from Williams in January 2020, Rosario lost two consecutive fights, both by knockout, to Jermell Charlo and Erickson Lubin.

In the co-main event, undefeated bantamweight contender Michael Angeletti (11-0, 7 KOs) of Spring, Texas will face Gerardo Valdez (16-1, 11 KOs) of the Dominican Republic in a 10-round bout.

“It's two young, hungry fighters in a real 50-50 fight,” Glover said. “It's a great fight.”

In the junior lightweight division, Dominic Valle (9-0, 7 KOs) from Lutz, Florida, will face Colombian Kevin Piedrahita (9-2, 8 KOs) in an eight-round fight.

“It's a great fight,” Glover said. “An eight-round fight. I'm really looking forward to this fight.”

In the opening fight of the card, heavyweight Ivan Dychko (13-0, 12 KOs), originally from Kazakhstan and now living in nearby Kissimmee, will face Craig Lewis (15-7-1, 8 KOs) of Detroit, Michigan in an eight-round bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has been writing for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. You can reach him at [email protected]

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