Middleweight prospect Jalil “El Mexicano” 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 “The Technician” 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 noteworthy new 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.
