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Miami Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida – In a middleweight contest, Luis Arias (19-2-1, 9 KOs) picked up the biggest win of his career with a ten round split decision win over former unified 154-pound champion Jarrett Hurd (24-2, 16 KOs)
The scores were 95-94 for Hurd, 97-93 for Arias and 96-93 for Arias.
Arias started very fast and never stopped punching as the two boxers exchanged big shots throughout the contest.
“I came in here and challenged the No. 1 guy at 154 pounds and we fought somewhere halfway and I was able to edge a decision. Props to Jarrett Hurd. You fought a great fight. Honestly, you could have had me out of there. I was definitely buzzed. If you would have found a way, I definitely would have gone down,” Arias said.
“He is a great fighter and like I told him afterwards, he came in here and fought his heart out. He definitely should have taken more time off with what he was dealing with outside of the ring.”
Arias has not looked his best in his last few fights.
He admits that some people around him were actually advising him to walk away from boxing to pursue another line of work
Arias hooked up with famed Cuban coach Ismael Salas and has now turned his career around.
“We’re here. I never quit on myself. People close to me were telling me to get a job and quit boxing. I just beat a former champion. Don’t ever give up on yourself,” Arias said.
“My key to victory was staying confident. Staying confident and sticking to the game plan. Knowing I’m the better fighter. Knowing I’m in better shape and I hit harder. I’m a better boxer and my defense is better. I’m better than him and I just proved it.
“The game plan was to jump on him, get the early lead and keep it. I felt like in the middle rounds I was wining the fight but you never know because I wasn’t the A-side in this fight. I buzzed him a lot especially on the inside. If we were fighting at 154, he would have gotten knocked out. Everybody knows it.”