Jalil Hackett scores biggest win, outpoints Sergiy Derevyanchenko at MSG
Photo by Carlo Estonactoc/NJ Boxing News
Opening the main portion of Sunday’s Zuffa Boxing card, Jalil Hackett (13-1, 9 KOs) made effective use of his jab and 17-year age advantage as he outboxed Sergiy Derevyanchenko to a unanimous decision victory in their middleweight fight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The scores were 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94, all in favor of “El Negro Mexicano” from Washington D.C.
Hackett had to overcome a few rocky moments, including a few clean right hands in the third and tenth rounds, but had far more moments of his own, particularly in the fifth when a right uppercut rocked the 40-year-old Brooklyn-based Ukrainian. Derevyanchenko fought most of the fight with cuts near both eyes obstructing his vision, but remained competitive throughout.
Derevyanchenko, who had previously only lost at the world championship level, was fighting for the first time since knocking out the overmatched Jeremy Ramos last July. Hackett has now won four straight since his lone defeat to Jose Roman Vazquez in December of 2024.
The fight was part of the Paramount Plus broadcast headlined by a super middleweight fight between Edgar Berlanga and Steven Butler.
Vladyslav Sirenko saved the firewords for the last possible moment, knocking out Otto Wallin at 2:59 of the tenth and final round in their heavyweight fight. Sirenko (23-1, 20 KOs) was on his way to a wide unanimous decision win when a right hand – followed by an unobstructed left hook on the way down – sent the Swedish southpaw to the floor unconscious with a count necessary.
Sirenko, 31, of Kyiv, Ukraine, was fighting for the first time since his first loss, a decision to Solomon Dacres, last July. Wallin (28-4, 16 KOs) has now lost three of his last five.
Earlier on the card, Emiliano Moreno’s jab and range were too much for Arnold Gonzalez to deal with as he cruised to a unanimous decision win in their ten-round fight. Moreno (13-1, 7 KOs) of Long Beach, Calif. earned the decision by scores of 79-73 on one card and 78-74 on the other two cards, while New York’s Gonzalez drops to 18-2 (9 KOs).
Moreno, 21, rebounds from his first defeat in his Zuffa Boxing debut.