While Tony Harrison has a PBC on Bounce main event fight on May 11, a win over Ishe Smith could propel Harrison back to world title contention and Harrison has one opponent in mind.
During a media workout training for his fight against Smith, Harrison said the fight against Smith is a must-win fight for him as it could put Harrison in a position to potentially challenge Jarrett Hurd and his IBF title.
"A win against Ishe would get me back to the truly meaningful fights, championship fights. I'd love another shot at a title holder like Jarrett Hurd. The goal is to get back to the top to face the best fighters in this stacked division," Harrison said.
Even if Harrison, who is ranked No. 11 in the IBF's official rankings at 154 pounds, he might have to wait a while before he gets a chance to fight for the world title. Hurd, who recently defeated Erislandy Lara to unify the WBA and IBF titles by split decision in April, has been ordered to fight Lara in a rematch by the WBA. There's also the fact that Julian Williams won an IBF title eliminator on the undercard of Lara vs. Hurd when he defeated Nathaniel Gallimore by majority decision.
Harrison had already fought Hurd for the IBF title back in February 2017 on the co-main event of Deontay Wilder's knockout win over Gerald Washington in a WBC heavyweight title fight. Hurd won the title by stopping Harrison in the ninth round.