[3] Despite Hurd's lack of accolades as an amateur, Ross Molovinsky, head of Washington metropolitan area promotional outfit Keystone Boxing, tapped him as a potential prospect.

After winning his first 16 fights, Hurd made his TV debut on ShoBox: The New Generation against fellow unbeaten prospect Frank Galarza.

[5][6] On May 19, 2016, it was announced that Hurd would appear on the Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter undercard at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn New York on June 25 against former Olympian Óscar Molina in a 10-round bout.

"[15] On January 24, 2017, it was announced that Hurd would next fight on Deontay Wilder's undercard on February 25 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, against Tony Harrison (24-1, 20 KOs) on PBC on FOX.

[20][21] On May 31, 2017, The Ring TV announced a deal was in place for Hurd to face former world champion Austin Trout for his first defense.

[22] 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 the winner must fight mandatory challenger Cedric Vitu next.

[23] On August 24, it was announced that the fight would take place as part of a junior middleweight triple-header at the Barclays Center on 14 October 2017.

In the middle rounds, Hurd was able to stifle Trout's movement, making the fight more of a brawl, with both fighters trading power shots.

For the fight, Hurd earned $330,000, while Trout, who was stopped inside the distance for the first time since turning professional, was paid $225,000.

[26][27] On January 9, 2018, it was confirmed that a deal was being put in place for a unification fight between Hurd and WBA (Super) and IBO champion Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs) for April 2018 with Showtime televising the bout.

[31] Hurd won a 12-round split decision over Lara in what was a potential fight of a year candidate to become a unified light middleweight champion.

[33] With the win, Hurd became seventh unified world title holder in light middleweight history, joining Hall of Famers Terry Norris, Félix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Winky Wright, as well as Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Canelo Álvarez.

[36] Although the WBA ordered a direct rematch between Lara and Hurd, the latter rejected the idea stating he wanted to move on to bigger fights to become undisputed light middleweight champion.

[37] In June 2018, Hurd underwent surgery on his shoulder, which he revealed was injured prior to his unification bout against Lara in April.

In August, Hurd's trainer Ernesto Rodriguez stated the shoulder was healing well and he would look to return to the ring in November 2018.

[38] In October, it was announced that Hurd would return on the undercard of Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

[39] His opponent was later confirmed to be British boxer Jason Welborn (24-6, 7 KOs), who would be dropping back down to light middleweight for the first time since 2016.

Hurd managed to move away from the ropes and started trading back eventually landing a hard body shot which dropped Welborn.

All three judges saw Williams as the clear winner, scoring the fight 116–111, 115–112 and 115–112 to hand Hurd the first defeat of his professional career.

Hurd dominated the fight in every aspect, as he also managed to drop his opponent in the final round en route to a unanimous decision victory.