Middleweight prospect Jalil Hackett took a big step up in competition and performed impressively, winning an action-packed 10-round unanimous decision over three-time world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Fighting in the opening bout of the Zuffa Boxing 09 main card at Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, and live on Paramount+, Washington, DC’s Hackett, 13-1 (9 KOs), and Derevyanchenko, 16-7 (11 KOs), of Brooklyn via Feodosia, Crimea, Ukraine, put on a fan-friendly brawl with the younger Hackett establishing himself as a contender and Derevyanchenko putting the guts and grit he’s shown throughout his career on display yet again.
Despite having lost six of his last 10, albeit against elite opposition, Derevyanchenko wasted no time, finding the range with a number of strong right hands in the first two rounds. However, a head clash with seconds left in round two left “The Technician” bleeding from a cut beside his right eye to start round three.
Another head clash would open up Derevyanchenko’s other eye a few rounds later.
Perhaps sensing the increased urgency posed by the cut, Derevyanchenko stepped up his attack in round three, landing several clean power punches to Hackett’s head with the left and especially a sneaky lead right.
Abandoning the more technical boxing style with which he started the fight, Hackett turned the fourth into a brawl, loading up on his punches and welcoming Derevyanchenko to exchange with him. Hackett, 23, found improved success with the new strategy, clearly turning the momentum of battle his way for the first time in the fight.
Hackett had good rounds five and six as well, getting Derevyanchenko’s attention with a sharp left hook and right uppercut combination in the fifth and outworking his 40-year-old veteran opponent in the sixth. He then took control with his fast jab in round seven, having now slowed Derevyanchenko enough to keep the Ukrainian at bay and peck away at his wounded eyes while looking for opportunities to land powerful right hands.
The ringside physician examined Derevyanchenko’s cuts before the start of round eight, concluding they weren’t affecting his vision, despite their free-flowing bloodiness.
After splitting a pair of high-intensity back-and-forth rounds eight and nine, Derevyanchenko landed a strong right hand and few more strong combinations in the final round to cap off a strong showing by both men to open the broadcast.
The official scores were 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94, all for Hackett.
“I feel like I stuck to the game plan and, you know, I got it done,” said Hackett, post-fight. “(I have) A lot of things to work on, of course, but, you know, I feel like I gave a good performance out there. So, I give myself a C plus, B minus.
“I just want y’all to give a round of applause for Sergiy, man. You know, he’s a hell of a guy. We all know who Triple G is. We thought he beat Triple G. He’ll (Derevyanchenko) do nothing but come out here and give the fans his best fight every night out.”