Worldwide
The Shot HURD Round Da World
And so it was…a nightmare.
There was nothing “American Dream” about being blasted by a completely solar free WBA super welterweight champion Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14KOs) go “Meh…” over Terrell Gausha. What a buzzkill, dude. I felt like I was being mooned by Lara– with a fucked up lunar pull just strangling all of Brooklyn with negative energy. With the flip of a switch (His switch) the arena went from fever pitch, to “What is this?”
It got really dark in Barclays Center last October because of Lara. “Who’s he like to you?” asked Daniel Gonzalez, lawyer and an indie fight writer.
“Usain Bolt,” I go. “If Bolt reached his best potential as a fighter, well—there he is.”
He was also a terrible piece of cake. That, or a terrible after dinner mint laced with Nyquil. But I saw a potential star and a new Antonio Margarito (eh, the “clean” version) in IBF super welterweight champion Jarrett Hurd (21-0, 15KOs), as he mowed down and mugged Austin Trout. Jermell Charlo featured the aura of a star, before blowing up Erickson Lubin with one bomb in the first round. I walked away feeling like one of them would get even with Lara for me, for being what Daffy Duck…
…would call ‘despicable’ entertainment. Erislandy Lara V Jarrett Hurd (tonight, on SHOWTIME/ 10PM ET) was born of that night.
I mean…the only thing exciting about anything Lara, is maybe his Craft from Tom Raider, but she probably gambles a little too much from his seat with a bag popcorn—that’s what he reminds me of in-between rounds: Where you can watch Lara think on ways to escape, rather than ways to raise hell. He’s always overestimated himself and underwhelmed. Maybe he should just dump some Doritos in a bowl and chop it up with Yunier Dorticos. Look how ballsy he was before being clobbered by “Iron” Murat Gassiev. So? The Cubans know he never stopped trying to destroy Gassiev. Even Luiz Ortiz, who probably turns 65 by the time you’re reading this, had Deontay Wilder all over the yellow brick road before hitting the canvas for a painting.
Look, I don’t think Lara will ever be Che Guevera—that’s what he would be facing if Jermell Charlo was in front of him, but since he’s become somewhat of a villain with the public anyway, it might not be a bad idea for Lara to Fidel Castro Hurd, and become a dictator in the ring. I just don’t believe he has that in him.
I really wanted to see Jermell Charlo get a shot at Lara first; his Felix Trinidad-like presence and almost supernatural self-belief would’ve really forced Lara’s back against the ropes. But I understand, and Lara’s a safer bet with Hurd, ya Heard? Felix Trinidad and Antonio Margarito are two different fights for a pure boxer like Lara, for he would have far more difficulty with an actual Trinidad than he would with Margarito. The speed advantage Lara has almost everywhere in this match-up with Hurd, is only as dramatic a difference as Jarrett allows it to be. Hurd fights with desire and dead-ass purpose. He won’t be losing on purpose, but in doing so, he’ll systematically force Lara into the trenches in spots. I’m looking for Lara to be going Usain the Olympian on Hurd, before he’s lured into a storm and gets struck by the loudest bolt of lightning you’ve ever Hurd about in the 11th rd.
C’mon…the house always wins. All that does is give us a futuristic Felix Trinidad Vs Antonio Margarito from Brooklyn in black ‘n white.
