At 34, Lara knows time isn’t on his side as he looks to secure a legacy and plans to take Hurd’s title to become a reigning three-belt king in Nevada next month.
“I’m very excited and motivated for this fight and to once again be headlining on the best network in boxing on SHOWTIME, is truly a pleasure,” said Lara.
“I look forward to adding another belt to my collection on April 7 and to proving that I’m the best 154-pound fighter out there. Everyone tune-in because you don’t want to miss this unification. It’s going to be a legendary night and one for the history books.”
For his part, Hurd is younger and fresher at 27 and is yet to taste a loss but hasn’t yet been tested at the highest level against a seasoned champion in his pomp.
It can be argued a win over Austin Trout last time out came opposite a fighter on the slide, so Hurd knows he’ll need to be at his best against Lara in the boxing capital of the world.
“I plan on being the aggressor for the entire fight, so I’ve been doing some exercises and working on techniques to improve my footwork so that I can stay on top of Erislandy Lara,” said Hurd.
“We are not trying to go to the scorecards, so hopefully, I can be the first man to stop him, which I hope to do in the later rounds.
“I called him out, and now, it has come to pass that I get to become a unified champion against the man everyone considers to be the best and most feared in the division, and that’s Erislandy Lara,” he added.
Lara v Hurd forms part of an eye-catching double-header broadcast on Showtime with James DeGale aiming to regain his IBF strap from Caleb Truax.
