Erislandy Lara
On May 31, 2017 The Ring TV announced a deal was in place for Trout to challenge undefeated American boxer Jarrett Hurd (20-0, 14 KOs) for his newly won IBF light middleweight title on July 29 on the undercard of Mikey Garcia vs. Adrien Broner in New York. Hurd won the then vacant title after stopping Tony Harrison in round 9 in February 2017. The title was left vacant by Jermall Charlo, who moved up to middleweight. On July 20, Boxing Scene reported the fight was being lined up to take place on September 30, 2017 as part of a light middleweight double header alongside Jermell Charlo's WBC title defence against Erickson Lubin. Because Hurd was granted an exception from the IBF to make a voluntary defence, however the winner must fight mandatory challenger Cedric Vitu (46-2, 19 KOs) by December 29, 2017. On August 24, Ringtv announced the fight would take place as part of a light middleweight triple-header at the Barclays Center in New York City on October 14, 2017. The third world title fight on the card would feature Erislandy Lara defending his WBA title against Terrell Gausha.