The 2016 Prospect of the Year is Jarrett Hurd

In an exciting year, Hurd rose to the top.

John Cudney Blocked Unblock Follow Following Dec 28, 2016

In 2016, an unprecedented 11 undefeated fighters won their first championship and former prospects of the year Errol Spence and Gervonta Davis have already secured title shots for early 2017.

Nipping at their heels is robust class of prospects eager for their own title opportunities. Out of this group, one fighter has clearly distinguished himself.

Up though the end of 2015, Jarrett Hurd was languishing in obscurity on the Maryland club circuit where he amassed a 16–0 record. Instead of televised showcases, his only exposure came from smartphone recordings of his fights uploaded to YouTube. Then he got the call to face Frank Galarza on ShoBox. On the night Hurd faced Galarza, he was the distinct B-side. 17–0 Galarza had become the darling of the ShoBox series following three previous televised wins and he even had Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon in attendance to support him. However, Jarrett Hurd didn’t get the script. It was one-way traffic from the first seconds of round one up through the merciful stoppage in round 6. “Swift” had arrived.

Hurd’s next chance came against undefeated Mexican Olympian Oscar Molina on CBS as the co-feature to Keith Thurman versus Shawn Porter. The opportunity came only days before fight night, following the cancellation of Jesus Cuellar vs Abner Mares. Hurd rose to the occasion. After dropping Molna with a highlight reel uppercut in the 1st round he dominated the rest of the fight. Not content to just walk away with a decision, Hurd achieved a TKO victory with only seconds remaining in the 10th round. His performance was seen by almost 3 million viewers.

To close out the year, Swift faced Jo Jo Dan on the Danny “Swift” Garcia — Samuel Vargas undercard. Dan is most known for his failed title attempt against Kell Brook last year. Hurd did not disappoint. He proved too fast, too big and too talented for Dan, ultimately stopping him in 6 rounds. In the eyes of most observers, Hurd was the supreme “Swift” of the night.

26-year-old Jarrett Hurd will enter 2017 in an enviable position. Junior Middleweight is arguably the most exciting division in the sport and most of the top fighters are also aligned with the PBC fight series. Here’s hoping his peers in the division will be brave enough to face him.