The memories of Jarrett Hurd being a dominant fighter are getting a bit hazy. Although his junior middleweight titles are collecting dust, he’s still clinging to the past.

A loss to Julian Williams in 2019 sent Hurd into a downward spiral. He picked up back-to-back losses against Luis Arias and Jose Armando Resendiz, despite being a big-time favorite. Just when it appeared as though he got back on track against Tyi Edmonds, a split decision draw against long-faded former champion, Jeison Rosario, left many believing that he simply doesn’t have it anymore.

This Saturday night, Hurd (25-3-1, 17 KOs) will attempt one more comeback when he takes on Johan Gonzalez. Confidence is something that Hurd still has plenty of but if things don’t go his way, he’ll officially pull the plug on a career that's on life support.

“Johan Gonzalez is a great fighter,” said Hurd during a final press conference. “I respect him but if I can’t get past this one baby, it’s over with for me.”

Gonzalez has a boatload of knockout wins under his belt but whenever he was asked to step up to the plate, he routinely came up short. At the tail end of 2024, it was the same ole pattern for the fringe contender. He was brutally knocked out by Yoenis Tellez in a non-competitive fight.

While both men need a win, Gonzalez (35-4, 34 KOs) isn’t the one whispering about retirement. Hurd is a pretty bright guy. He knows that Gonzalez isn’t viewed as one of the middleweight division’s elite. He also knows that he’s been underwhelming for several years now.

All of that, including the retirement talk, is something that Hurd is trying to scrape under the rug. Simply put, although retirement is on the table, he’s fully convinced that a spectacular win over his man will shelf those talks.

“I’m going out here to make a statement. I’m a show you why I was once a unified champion.”