Hurd: ‘I wish I could have finished it, but my lip was cut too bad’

The end could be near for former unified 154-pound champion Jarrett Hurd. In the co-main event of Figueroa-Magsayo on Saturday night, Mexican Armando Reséndiz (14-1, 10 KOs) battered Hurd (24-3, 16 KOs), and the ringside physician stopped the contest five seconds into the tenth and final round due to a severe laceration on Hurd’s lip.

At the time of the stoppage, Reséndiz was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards.

Unfortunately, Hurd has had a hard time with his defense, and he got hit early and often by Reséndiz, who landed 280 of his 780 punches thrown, the most connected punches of any Hurd opponent. 206 of the 280 punches landed were power shots.

Hurd, who is coming off a 21-month layoff, had his moments in this fight as he landed 228 of his 562 (40 percent) punches thrown. However, he could not dodge or duck Reséndiz’s punches.

“I knew this was going to be a tough, toe-to-to fight based on our styles,” said the 32-year-old Hurd, who lost inside the distance for the first time in his career. “But I only had to make it one more round. I wish I could have finished it, but my lip was cut too bad… At no point was I hurt at all in that fight, but I have to respect what the doctors say, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Hurd has lost his last two fights and three of his previous four; he’s always gotten hit a lot in his career, but the accumulation of punches might be taking its toll on him. If his money is right, Hurd will hopefully move on from boxing.

Garcia shines:

In the telecast opener, fast-rising teenager Elijah Garcia (14-0, 12 KOs) rose to the occasion in a massive step-up fight, dropping and stopping previously undefeated middleweight contender Amilcar Vidal, Jr. (16-1, 12 KOs) with a barrage of punches at 2:17 of the fourth round. Watch the KO HERE.

From the opening bell, Garcia initiated a two-way action fight that came to a sudden end when Vidal was stunned by a right hand to the head and retreated against the ropes in search of cover. The 19-year-old Garcia sensed he had hurt his opponent and pounced, unleashing a flurry of punches that dropped Vidal and forced referee Jack Reiss to stop the fight.

“This is what everyone dreams of, so this isn’t a surprise,” said Phoenix’s Garcia, who has now stopped six of his last seven opponents. “This is what I worked for since I turned pro so we’re going to keep moving forward one step at a time.”

Through just three-and-a-half rounds of a back-and-forth affair, both fighters were bloodied and combined for 189 punches landed and 593 punches thrown. The power punches were the difference in the fight as Garcia landed 54 percent of his power punches to Vidal’s 46 percent. In the fourth round, Garcia landed 62 percent of his power punches including the all-decisive final blows.

“I stay ready and mentally I’m strong,” Garcia continued. “I know mentally I might have lost the first couple of rounds, but I was breaking him down. He started backing up. He’s a great opponent. No disrespect to him. I caught him and I finished him. I’m not sure what I hurt him with, but I know I hurt him and for me being 19 I have the maturity to tell if they’re hurt or not.”

After emphatically announcing himself to the boxing world in his national television debut, Garcia promised that his newly earned fans would be seeing plenty more of him.

“I might become a champion before I’m 21 or 22,” he said. “I might be ahead of schedule.”

In other action:

U.S. Olympian and super welterweight contender Terrell Gausha (23-3-1, 12 KOs) scored three quick knockdowns to overpower and stop Brandyn Lynch (12-2-1, 9 KOs) in the ninth round. Plus, sensational welterweight prospect Travon Marshall (8-0, 7 KOs) scored a thunderous third-round knockout over veteran Justin DeLoach Dock (19-6, 10 KOs) and SHOBOX veteran Samuel Teah (19-4-1, 8 KOs) rode a first round knockdown to a unanimous decision victory over previously undefeated super lightweight Enriko Gogokhia (13-1-2, 8 KOs).