A triple-header of world championship boxing came to Barclays Center on October 14, with three super welterweight world champions defending their titles in the same ring on a single night. Their challengers included two undefeated contenders and a former champion as six of the world’s best 154-pound fighters were featured on the same BROOKLYN BOXING fight card.

Among the world champions at 154 pounds, WBA champ Erislandy Lara has held his title the longest. He faced off against Terrell Gausha, a 2012 U.S. Olympian who entered his first world title fight with an undefeated record. 

But Lara was never challenged, putting Gausha on the mat in the fourth round and cruising to a one-sided unanimous decision.

Six months after he made his first defense of the WBC belt with a vicious sixth-round knockout of Charles Hatley at Barclays Center, Jermell Charlo was back in the Brooklyn ring to face undefeated challenger Erickson Lubin, a 22-year-old who had ridden a fast track to his first title shot. 

Charlo made even quicker work this time, dropping Lubin at 2:41 of the first round for the win by knockout. Punching down to the ducking Lubin, Charlo caught the challenger with a right that sent him to the mat. 

“They said they were going to come to take my title,” said Charlo. “I had to defend it.”

The triple-header was launched by a classic battle between Jarrett Hurd, making the first defense of his IBF title, and Austin Trout, the former WBA titlist. Since losing his belt to Saul Alvarez in 2013, Trout had dropped bids to reclaim a title against both Lara and Charlo’s twin brother, Jermall. 

He gave Hurd everything he had before the relentless fight was stopped after the 10th round.

“It’s most definitely tougher to defend the title than win it,” said Hurd. “I’m always the one that comes on stronger at the end of the fight. We knew we were going to wear Austin Trout down in the later rounds and eventually stop him.”

Trout was sharp and aggressive early, until Hurd’s superior power began to inflict damage over the middle rounds. Trout countered, but was losing ground.

Finally, with Trout offering little resistance over the final 30 seconds of the 10th round, the doctor stopped the fight from Trout’s corner. The victory left Hurd calling for a unification bout, and Charlo sounded ready.

“We’re going to unify,” said Charlo. “The other champions want to fight me and I’ll take any of them. Give me another title. I want Hurd. Hurd just won. Give me Hurd.”

Tony Harrison, who lost to Hurd in a fight for the vacant belt earlier this year, won a middleweight decision over Paul Valenzuela Jr., and Cindy Serrano, Chordale Booker, Richardson Hitchins, George Arias and Julian Sosa were victorious.