Yep, Jarrett Hurd watched with eyes wide open and his analyst hat on Saturday night when Jermell Charlo took on Austin Trout, and defended his 154-pound strap, the WBC version.

Hurd told me during a hit on the Everlast “Talkbox” podcast that he thinks the Texas-based Charlo, “little Charlo,” deserved a UD, rather than an MD. But…

“But Charlo didn’t look as good as people would’ve liked him to look,” the Maryland hitter, who owns the IBF and WBA’s 154-pound titles, told me. “Or as people thought he was. He was in there, he was loading up, he was looking for the knockout. He wanted to make a statement. I was the only person to ever stop Austin Trout, he wanted to make a bigger statement than I made. He was loading up, telegraphing his punches. He looked like a guy that was anxious to put on a better show than I did against Austin Trout.”

Hurd met Trout, the New Mexico vet, a loser in three of his last four outings, in October 2017 in Brooklyn. Hurd bore down on Trout, stalked him, took his legs, and then his bearings, winning via stoppage in round 10.

So, did Charlo’s stock drop in the eyes of Hurd, who owns a 22-0 mark? The 27-year-old said naw, he thought that Charlo was this level coming in.

“When Jermell gets competition in front of him, he doesn’t look as great as people think he is. He’s walking around saying this, that and the other, and it gets the fans and the people out there to believe it. But if you look at the competition he’s faced, Charles Hatley and Erickson Lubin, these guys aren’t people who’ve hung with the best. And once you get in there with an Austin Trout, you see the difference hanging in there with someone that’s not just there to lay down, be there to fight you, and someone like Hatley, he’s supposed to look the way he does.”

So, is he thinking Jermell was “exposed?”

Yes, Hurd told me. Now people have jumped ship, and more are saying Hurd is No. 1 at junior middleweight. “It’s something me and my team saw the the whole time,” he stated.

Hurd blasted on my radar screen when he downed Frank Galarza in 2015. He’s now front and center there, he’s a beast who isn’t in a bad fight. We want to know, who is he fighting next, and when? Is it true, I asked him, is advisor Al Haymon pushing for a Hurd vs Jermell bout next?

The WBA has Julian Williams ranked No. 1 and the WBA wants Hurd to fight JV 154 champ Brian Castano, so they are in the mix for next. So are Erislandy Lara, who he downed in his last tango, or Kell Brook maybe?

“Within those five opponents I could choose any one,” he said. “All those opponents have been brought up to me and Al Haymon and we’re still trying to figure out what to do.”

Also, Hurd hit the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota this weekend. He said he prizes a pic taken of him next to Thomas Hearns.

“Me seeing Hearns there, we were able to face off and take a picture, and it is memorable forever,” he told me.

And last thing: is Hurd going to stay at 154 for a spell? He’s big for 154.

“I’m making the weight pretty easy,” he told us. As long as he can snag belts at 154, he will stay there. So, expect him to stay at 154 for 2019, and he’s in no rush to move up. Get all the belts, and then move up, he said.

Check out the whole pod here, which also includes a talk with promoter Bob Arum.

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