Algieri: Hurd-Rosario draw makes sense, Valle one to watch

Chris Algieri says he has no problem with the result of Wednesday night’s ProBox TV main event, which saw former junior middleweight beltholders Jarrett Hurd and Jeison Rosario battle to a split draw. But, adds the former 140 pound titlist, who was calling the fight alongside Paulie Malignaggi, the contest also showed that neither man is the force he once was.

“I understand the draw,” Algieri told BoxingScene ringside after the fight. “Neither guy really took the lead. There were a lot of back and forth exchanges, a lot of ‘I win this round, you win the next round.’ And at the end, I liked the final push by Rosario. But neither of them looked like themselves. Jarrett Hurd is a guy who used to be a destroyer who was scrappy on the inside, and let his punches go. He’s fighting a different style now, trying to fight from the outside, but a little bit of the Jarrett Hurd of old would have really done some good work tonight, because there was a lot of inside fighting and I think normally he would have dominated there. But it seemed like Rosario’s willingness to let the punches go made him effective on the inside.”

On the undercard, Algieri was especially impressed with junior lightweight prospect Dominic Valle, who remained unbeaten after turning back a brave challenge from Kevin Piedrahita over eight rounds.

“I think Valle is going to be a much better fighter after that,” he said. “I’m sure he’s exhausted right now. He threw a lot of punches. He had to think a lot. But I think he learned a lot.

“And his corner was excellent. They were telling him, ‘Don’t forget about the legs. Don’t forget about the legs,’ encouraging him to keep up his movement. That means he’s getting good work in the gym, so he’s gonna progress. He’s one of my favorite guys to watch.”