Jacobs Another Middleweight World Title Belt
Daniel Jacobs knows a thing or two about winning a world title.
Winning another world title on Saturday night would have to come against a familiar and formidable foe who knows him all too well.
Daniel Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) defeated Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden to win a vacant IBF middleweight title belt.
Two judges scored the fight 115-112 for Daniel Jacobs while one judge scored it 114-113 to Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Daniel Jacobs landed 181 out of 578 total punches (31%) while landing 137 out of 306 power punches (45%). Sergiy Dervyanchenko landed 160 out of 658 total punches (24%) while landing 137 out of 482 power punches (28%).
The headline coming into this bout was that it was a matchup of two former sparring partners who after many times in the ring opposite each other, had a very unique feel and understanding for what each brings to the table.
After well over 300 rounds with Derevyanchenko, Jacobs knew he was in for a fight even if others didn’t quite believe he would.
“Much hats off to Sergiy Derevyanchenko. He’s a true competitor,” Jacobs said after the fight. “I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. For those who said this was gonna be an easy fight didn’t know very much about Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
“I knew exactly what this guy had underneath that heart, he showed true grit. I take my hats off to him, nothing but respect. But I felt like I dug deep (during the fight). I felt like I used my range and tried to use my boxing ability and the outside as much as I can because those are my best attributes.”
Jacobs would get an early knockdown against Derevyanchenko, who’s knees touched the ground after taking a hard right hand over the top near the ropes, but a knockout would not be in the cards on this night.
The early rounds saw Jacobs build a slight edge on the cards as he used solid work to the body against his opponent in a tactical battle.
Derevyanchenko would begin working the body in the middle rounds, getting the attention of Jacobs, who was under siege by the 32-year-old Ukrainian.
The two would slug it out in the sixth round, with Jacobs building confidence after landing a strong left-hand shot that wobbled Derevyanchenko.
While being okay with Derevyanchenko leading the dance, Jacobs left his mark fighting from a distance while winning a number of the exchanges on the inside.
Most of the later rounds saw Jacobs uses his better fundamentals as a boxer to land the cleaner and harder shots while Derevyanchenko kept a steady and aggressive pace, having his moments in a entertaining fight.
In the end, Jacobs, the better boxer of the two on the night, had his hand raised in victory after 12 rounds of action.
“I wanted it to be an entertaining fight. I wanted him to get his shots off and then I knew when it would be time for me to get mines off,” Jacobs said. “He looked like he was gassing in the fifth round. From sparring him I know that he get a little tired in rounds. Seeing his fights (and) studying him. So I knew if I let him load up and miss the shots I could come back and hopefully get another knockout.”
Daniel Jacobs failed to get the knockout, instead settling for a razor close win on the score cards in a place he looks at as a second home in New York City.
The Brownsville native has not recorded a knockout victory since September 9th, 2016 as he’s gone 3-1 since then, with his lone loss being a close unanimous decision loss to longtime middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin on March 18th, 2017.
Still, Jacobs standing among the top 160-pound fighters in the world is undeniable. Having won 15 out of his past 16 fights and now the IBF middleweight title, Jacobs understands his place in the middleweight landscape.
When asked by HBO’s Max Kellerman if he would want a fight with Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez in the near future, Jacobs let his interest be known.
“We absolutely want Canelo,” Jacobs said while smiling. “I think that’s a fight that the fans want. Especially those who were in agreeance with me when I say I feel like I beat GGG [Gennady Golovkin]. This will be a great fight for the fans and now that I have the strap there’s gonna be more in the pudding for everybody. So let’s make this fight happen.”
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