Daniel Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) took care of business as he beat Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-1, 10 KOs) by split decision Saturday night to capture the vacant IBF Middleweight title at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.
It was a great performance by both men, but Jacobs proved to be just a bit too much for his counterpart tonight.
Jacobs started off strong in the opening round as he was able to floor Derevyanchenko. To his credit, the Ukrainian managed to shake off his slow start and really applied pressure to Jacobs all night.
But Jacobs’ movement, height and reach troubled Derevyanchenko all night long.
Although they were stablemates and knew each other well outside the ring, inside the ring there was no love shown between the two.
It was an all-action boxing fight that saw both men getting caught with vicious shots.
The familiarity between the two seemed to benefit Jacobs more than it did for Derevyanchenko.
“I knew that when he starts to miss shots he gets tired,” said Jacobs to a group of media members after his victory. “I heard through the grapevine that his goal was to go to the body in this fight. He did that tremendously. It definitely helped a lot being inside the ring with him, but I’ve always said that sparring is totally different from being inside that ring.”
Much of the build up in this fight was centered around the friendship and familiarity both Jacobs and Derevyanchenko shared–having sparred more than 300 rounds together. Jacobs however had no issues putting that aside and tried his very best to take Derevyanchenko out.
“There was no emotion for me. This is a kill or be killed sport,” said Jacobs. “This man was trying to take away from my family, he was trying to take away from my future. As far as emotions that would deter me from wanting to take his head off. That wasn’t there.”
With a win over one of the best Middleweights out there and the IBF title around his waist Jacobs knows that he has plenty of options, but don’t ask him about his next moves. He’s too busy enjoying this moment.
“I really prefer not to address it right now,” said Jacobs. “Whatever happens in the future you’ll hear about it real soon. Right now I just want to enjoy this belt and enjoy my family.”
Jacobs may not want to address it at the moment and understandably so, but who would you like to see him jump back in the ring with next? Comment below to let us know.
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- Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
All photos by Marilyn Paulino/Round By Round Boxing
