It may have been a quick night in the office for junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd, but it wasn't an easy.
In his first fight since defeating Erislandy Lara to unify the WBA, IBF and IBO junior middleweight titles, Hurd knocked out Jason Welborn in the fourth round to retain his belts. The fight took place as the co-main event of the WBC heavyweight title bout between Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury.
Welborn started things off well, testing Hurd's surgically repaired shoulder with big shots at close range. Welborn managed to push Hurd into the ropes in the first and third rounds as the bout got physical and scrappy. Hurd started to let his hands go in the second round by repeatedly throwing the left hand at the British challenger.
But it was a right hand from Hurd that ended the fight. Midway through the fourth round, Hurd landed a right uppercut to Welborn's body which sent him to the canvas. Welborn was slow to get back up on his feet and unfortunately for him, Welborn was not able to fully rise up and beat the 10-count, ending the fight.
After the fight, WBC champion Jermell Charlo entered the ring to confront Hurd in the hopes of building up to a potential unification fight in 2019. Both sides appear interested in the rematch, but Charlo currently has his hands full preparing for his upcoming title defense against Tony Harrison on December 22.
Hurd now improves to 23-0 as a pro with 16 wins coming by knockout.