When Jesse Hart looks in the mirror, he still sees the same fighter he’s always been.
Khalil Coe, who Hart faces this weekend on the undercard of Raymond Muratalla-Andy Cruz, believes that Hart is nowhere near the fighter he once was. Their clash will stream live on
DAZN.
“He used to be that guy,” Coe admitted to Chris Mannix on Matchroom Boxing’s YouTube page. “But his time came and went. He had his opportunity and you see what he did.”
The opportunities
Coe (10-1-1, 8 KOs) alludes to took place on the biggest stages. In 2017 and 2018, Hart lost a pair of close decisions to Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
In the next biggest fight of his life, against former light heavyweight champion Joe Smith in 2020, Hart lost another close decision.
Those losses are a sign of weakness according to Coe, but from
Hart’s point of view, they’re a sign of strength.
“I fought some of the best fighters in the world,” Hart explained during the same interview. “I came up short a few times but those were close decisions. I have plenty left in my gas tank. I’ve never been knocked out, stopped, or beat up. I don’t have any wear and tear on my body.”
To a certain extent, Hart (31-3, 25 KOs) is proving that he isn’t at the end of his career. Currently, the Philadelphia native is riding a five-fight win streak, four of which have come via stoppage.
Even though Hart, 36, has looked terrific in recent fights, Coe points to his age and his inability to get it done when facing tougher opposition. With a
punishing sixth-round stoppage win over Manuel Gallegos last May, Coe plans on inflicting the same sort of damage to Hart when they meet up.
“I’m gonna hurt you,” Coe continued. “I’m gonna hurt you.”