By: William Holmes
HBO’s run as one of boxing’s premier destinations is coming to an end, and tonight may have been their last telecast from New York City.
HBO’s World Championship Boxing put on a triple header live from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The opening bout of the night was rematch between Heather Hardy (21-0) and Shelly Vincent (23-1) for the vacant WBO Women’s Featherweight Title. Their first fight was considered by many to be a fight of the year candidate in 2016.
Hardy walked into the ring with a four inch height advantage.
Both boxers started the fight right where the left off, by throwing a large number of punches and landing several good shots. Hardy appeared the be winning the early rounds with more accurate punches and good body shots, but Vincent kept up the pressure.
Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account
Hardy appeared to have slowed down a little bit in the fourth round and may have given that round to Vincent, but she picked up her pace again in the fifth and sixth rounds and used a good consistent jab and strong hook to the body to win these rounds.
Hardy had a bad cut open up over her left eye in addition to an earlier cut over her right eye by the seventh round but she continued to fight on. Vincent had some blood coming from her nose at the end of the round and the volume of punches that both women were landing were showing it’s effect on their faces.
Vincent continued to press the action in the eight round and was able to land a few good shots to the body of Hardy, but Hardy landed harder counters and appeared to be landing with more power.
Vincent probably needed a knockout in the final two rounds to win this bout, but neither boxer were known for their power and neither came close to a knockdown, but still threw an incredible number of punches.
Heather Hardy remains undefeated with a decision victory by scores of 97-93, 97-93, and 99-91.
The next bout of the night was between Alberto Machado (20-0) and Yuandale Evans (20-1) for the WBA “Regular” Junior Lightweight Title.
Machado is a rising star in boxing and looked to be the taller fighter in the ring.
Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account
Machado was able to land a good straight left hand early on to the chin of Evans that sent Evans to his butt on the floor. Evans was able to get back to his feet, but was staggered by a right hook and was met with a flurry of punches that forced Evans to touch the mat with his gloves for a second knockdown.
Evans returned to his feet and was checked quickly by the referee and indicated he could go on, but was met with another Machado combination that ended with a clean left hook that knocked Evans out and sent him crashing backwards to the canvas.
Alberto Machado wins by knockout at 2:25 of the first round.
The main event of the evening was between Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0) and Daniel Jacobs (34-2) for the IBF Middleweight Title.
Both boxers showed they knew each other well in the opening round and respected each other’s power. Derevyanchenko let Jacobs know he was in a fight by landing a short right immediately after a break. Jacobs jab kept a good distance and he was able to score a knockdown with an over the top right hand. Derevyanchenko got to his feet and survived a Jacobs onslaught as the round came to an end.
Derevyanchenko was the aggressor in the second round and recovered well from his earlier knockdown. Derevyanchenko was pressing forward on Jacobs which forced Jacobs to switch to a southpaw stance to better keep a distance from Derevyanchenko’s right hand.
Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account
Jacobs did good work to the body in the third and fourth rounds but both boxers were loading up on their punches and landing hard shots.
Derevyanchenko attacked the body of Jacobs in the fifth round and had Jacobs walking backwards into a corner or rope several times throughout the round. Jacobs was able to land a few good shots this round, but Derevyanchenko was the aggressor.
The sixth round featured a lot of fireworks as both boxers threw with reckless abandon and landed hard shots to the body and head. Jacobs though appeared to be a little more accurately, but was still being uncharacteristically wild.
Derevyanchenko was breathing heavily by the seventh round but still coming forward. The body work of Jacobs was showing signs of paying off in this round as Jacobs still had snap in his punches while Derevyanchenko appeared to be losing steam.
Jacobs defense was much more effective in the eighth and ninth rounds and he was finding a home for his uppercuts. Jacobs had pulled ahead to a comfortable lead by the tenth round, but Derevyanchenko may have stolen that round with some successful flurries.
Jacobs looked like he would have been ok with boxing safely in the final two rounds, but Derevyanchenko made Jacobs work for his victory as Derevyanchenko continued to press forward and aggressively go for a knockout and had Jacobs looking exhausted as the fight came to an end, but Derevyanchenko took some hard shots in the process.
Daniel Jacobs wins the decision with scores of 114-113 Derevyanchenko, 115-112 Jacobs, 115-112 Jacobs.
