Deontay Wilder Knocks Out Gerald Washington To Retain WBC Heavyweight Title.
In a clash of young guns in the Super Welterweight division, the co-main event of the evening featured Tony Harrison facing Jarrett Hurd for the vacant IBF title. Harrison was able to utilize great ring generalship in the early rounds to keep Hurd following him around the ring while pot-shotting him. Hurd was able to find Harrison a bit more in the middle rounds as Harrison's movement slowed down a bit.
Hurd had Harrison hurt for the majority of round 7 but was unable to put his foe on the canvas. Harrison was able to regain his composure in the following round and was able to counter Hurd as he continued to burrow his way forward headfirst. Hurd however was able to stagger Harrison again with a devastating right and possibly steal the round with a flurry at the end of it. Hurd's power seemed to be taking the steam out of Harrison who had to expend a lot of energy to move around the ring.
In round 9 Harrison seemed to regain his composure for a bit and landed some effective combos, finishing some off them off with a left hook to the body of Hurd which seemed to make him less aggressive early in the round. As Harrison looked more comfortable in the round, possibly because of fatigue, he held his hands dangerously low. Harrison shot out a lazy jab and just like in the previous two rounds; Hurd was able to come over the top of it with a right hand that sent Harrison directly to the canvas. Harrison stood up to beat the count by the referee but spit out his mouthpiece while talking to the referee. At that point, the bout was called to a halt making Jarrett "Swift" Hurd the new IBF Super Welterweight champion.
In the main event, Deontay Wilder made his return from injury to defend his WBC Heavyweight title against Gerald Washington. Wilder broke his right hand and tore a tendon in his bicep in his last bout against Chris Arreola so he did appear to come out a bit tentative in round 1. It was Washington surprisingly who established the jab early and dictated the action. Wilder still seemed tentative in round 2 to throw many punches as Washington continued to keep Wilder at bay with a jab alone. It was more of the same over the next two rounds, and you could actually make the case for Washington being up four rounds on the scorecards at that point. Round 5 started with Washington continuing to pump his jab but Wilder started pawing with his a little more in the round trying to gauge range. Wilder was still reluctant to throw the right hand he is known for all fight, possibly due to the previous injury. Wilder finally began throwing his jab with meaning in the round and finally followed it up with a short right hook as he got within close range of Washington. Washington was immediately hurt by the punch and Wilder was able to follow it up with a left hook that sent Washington to the canvas. Washington beat the count but it was the beginning of the end for him as Wilder released a fury of haymaker shots that caused the referee to step in before any more damage could be done to the stunned Washington.
While retaining his WBC belt with the victory, Wilder brings his record to 38-0 with 37 of those victories coming by way of knockout. There are some intriguing options for Wilder now with this comeback fight out of the way. There is still a looming WBC mandatory fight for Wilder. However, Wilder made his intentions known that he would like to unify titles against current WBO champion Joseph Parker in his next bout. Wilder stated, "I've done my part, now its time for Joseph Parker to do his".