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Daniel Jacobs claimed the vacant IBF middleweight title tonight with a hard-fought, split decision win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko, and may have bought himself a shot at Canelo Alvarez in 2019.
Jacobs (35-2, 29 KO) won on scores of 115-112, 115-112, and 113-114. BLH scored the fight 115-112 for Jacobs. Derevyanchenko, who was down in the first round, falls to 12-1 (10 KO), but proved without a doubt that he can compete at the top levels of the middleweight division.
It was an entertaining fight, a strong main event, pretty much everything you could hope for it to be. Two guys lived up to their billing with plenty of action, back-and-forth stuff. Jacobs started well with that first round knockdown, worked the body well, and then Derevyanchenko came on some, worked the body, too, and made it a real scrap.
“We absolutely want Canelo,” Jacobs said after the fight, and after big praise for Derevyanchenko. “It’s a fight that the fans want. This would be a great fight for the fans, and now that I have the strap, there’s gonna be more in the pudding for everybody. Let’s make this fight happen.”
Jacobs also said he would rematch Gennady Golovkin, but that his sights are now on Canelo, a fellow champion at 160.
Jacobs landed 181 of 578 (31%) of his total punches, including a strong 137 of 306 (45%) of his power shots. Derevyanchenko threw more, landing 160 of 658 (24%) total punches, and 137 of 482 (28%) power shots.