Jacobs digs down deep, defeats Derevyanchenko by split decison

In the end, it was all about versatility.

Daniel Jacobs boxed and punched his way to an exciting 12-round split decision victory over tough Sergei Derevyanchenko at The Theater at Madison Square Garden Saturday night.

Judges Tom Schreck and Steve Weisfeld scored the fight 115-112 for Jacobs-while Julie Lederman tabbed Derevyanchenko the winner by a 114-113 tally.

Jacob, the new IBF middleweight titleholder, got off to a fast start by scoring a flash knockdown in the opening stanza. The punch that did the deed was a clubbing shot that took away Derevyanchenko’s legs for a few seconds.

The transplanted Ukrainian stood up quickly, but the blow made him wary for a few rounds to engage in the pocket with Jacobs.  

Derevyanchenko buzzed Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) in the second round with a lunging left  and solid right hand. The shot made Jacobs legs wobble, but he quickly recovered and switched to southpaw. Derevyanchenko pursued him, but couldn’t follow up. Derevyanchenko (12-1, 10 KOs) tried to maintain his momentum in round three, but Jacobs caught him a sharp left hook and right to the body.  

In rounds four and five, Jacobs continued to use a variety of shots on his former sparring partner. Derevyanchenko fought back, but was finding it difficult to tag the more complete Jacobs. Derevyanchenko applied his own bodywork in round six, but was soon on the receiving end of some more wicked combinations. Both fighters absorbed heavy blows in round seven. Jacobs, from Brooklyn, skipped away and stung Derevyanchenko with more jabs.

Jacobs stunned Derevyanchenko with two pretty uppercuts in round eight. Derevyanchenko looked gassed, but came on hard in the next heat, tagging Jacobs with a couple of right hands.

Derevyanchenko (12-1, 10 KOs) rallied in round 10, but soon found himself on the receiving end of more power punches. He absorbed them, but definitely felt them. Jacobs worked over Dereyanchencko’s midsection in round 11. The punches were hard, short, and deadly. Derevyanchenko tried to land a fight saving shot in round 12, but Jacobs ducked and weaved—and fought back at the bell.

“Hats off to Sergiy,” Jacobs said. “A true competitor. I knew he’d be hard and I had to dig deep. I used my range and boxed on the back foot. Those are my best attributes. He looked gassed after five, and I knew I could let him load up and miss.”

Derevyanchenko wished the first round had been different.

“It was a very close fight,” Derevyanchenko said. “I knew that the knockdown could come back to bite me. But I felt like I was hurting him every round, controlling action.”