Vinny’s Views: Danny Jacobs Vs Sergiy Derevyanchenko – The Facts, The Stats & The Ringside Report Fight Prediction Is In!
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By Vinny “Glory Days” Lucci
People inquire all the time concerning the formula for high percentage rate of accuracy when handicapping our beloved sport. With a sheepish Cheshire grin I tell them just read the article and the formula pretty much has a spectrum of significant insights that give relevance to Vegas odds or dismisses them as simply speculation leaning on the favorite or better known entity. Part two of the equation is actually what dictates reasonable sanity or just a rabid fan like forum. Always go with your head, never your heart. Should both align its secretly icing on the cake.
The Event:
On Saturday October 27, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, and Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment will join forces to co-promote Daniel Jacobs versing Sergiy Derevyanchenko for the vacant IBF Middleweight title. The event to be hosted at the Hulu Theater (formally the Felt Forum) at Madison Square Garden in New York City. HBO will televise title bout bringing closure and ending its glorious 45 year run with almost Shakespearean undertones as the network is flourishing without boxing sales and no longer interested at holding Showtime boxing at bay. After its inception in 1973 with Joe Frazier’s historic title defense against relatively unknown George Foreman it appeared the networks domination over cable boxing would go unchallenged for over four decades. Both combatants promise to make the very last telecast as memorable as the first.
The Stats: Daniel Jacobs is a former WBA middleweight champion who proudly established an excellent record of 34-2, 29 KO’s. The American boxer who has always been a Brooklyn native stands 5’11 ½” with a 73” wingspan. Jacobs is known by the moniker “Miracle Man” for his miraculous comeback from Osteosarcoma in 2010 which is a form of bone cancer that attacked his spine. (Bone cancer is largely recognized as stage four with little chance for survival) Fighting from orthodox stance Danny has been a pro for eleven years and spent half of it on the world stage on the brink of stardom.
Sergiy Derevyanchenko has taken a rapid surge up the middleweight hierarchy thanks to the illogical ranking system of the IBF which have the most suspect mandatories of all four alphabet organizations. The Ukrainian boxer was born and raised in Feodosiya, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union where he enjoyed a spectacular amateur career boasting a 390-20 record. Sergiy now calls Brooklyn home where he has built a short but interesting ledger of 12-0, 10 KO’s. Billed as the “Technician” and fighting from orthodox stance he has ingratiated himself to hard core fans being known as a brutal puncher. At 32 years of age he finds himself knocking on both the door of opportunity as well as destiny. With no time to lose he finds himself thrust upon the world stage against a formidable opponent who possesses many ring advantages on paper. Standing 5’9”with a paltry 67” reach Derevyanchenko will be sacrificing a six inch reach differential inside the pocket.
Last fight: Jacobs fought this past April at Barclay’s Center, Brooklyn N.Y. winning a 12 round UD over previously undefeated Macieji Sulecki who was 26-0, 10 KO’s going into the title eliminator. His extraordinary skillset was on display throughout the bout but failed to produce the knockout in front of home town crowd.
Derevyanchenko’s last bout also graced the ring at Barclay’s Center in March where he was woefully over matched against one Dashon Johnson whose record going into bout was an unremarkable 22-22-3-1, 7 KO’s. Sergiy didn’t disappoint stopping Johnson in sixth round of a scheduled eight. For a well-connected boxer fighting under the promotional banner of Dibella Entertainment one would think he’d step up several notches and test the waters of a more bonafide contenders before being maneuvered into title picture.
Styles:
Jacobs is a complete well rounded boxer with power in either hand. He is patient when needed but doesn’t give away rounds. Danny has terrific balance and hand speed with some of the finest technical skills extent. Whether holding his ground inside the pocket or circling the parameter of ring he controls the tempo of bout as well as his opponents. His one stoppage loss to Dmitry Pirog back in July, 2010 came in the fifth round just as Pirog suddenly switched from orthodox to untraditional southpaw catching Daniel with a haymaker in between stances. It went down as a TKO victory but it must be noted that Jacobs was diagnosed with cancer later that year and most likely was fighting ill. Above all else it is impossible to truly gauge the heart that beats inside this champion that separates him from all others.
Derevyanchenko is a fireplug gifted with both speed and power as his best attributes. Sergiy is a talented boxer who lives for the pocket looking to engage all foes in phone booth warfare. Working behind a stiff jab his reach becomes a handicap and must close the gap to his target where his combinations are relentless volleys of punches upstairs and down. He is particularly daft at evading the pocket gate underneath his opponent’s offense and then countering in the fraction of a second when their chins are exposed before their defense can take reclamation. (Think vintage Pacquiao, it’s that good.)
What to look for fight night:
Both boxers have promised to put aside their friendship for this evening and resume it after bout’s conclusion. In between both must gain the others respect without voluntarily eating leathered missiles to prove a point. Ring generalship and boxing acumen will come in the form of who can establish footwork rhythm and appropriate distance that benefits each style. Jacobs must showcase his advantages in height, reach, weight and experience while not being lured into Deveryanchenko’s fight. Danny knows how to pivot, and tie up his man after scoring telling combinations, and Sergiy has to remain close enough to resemble a Siamese twin in order to extradite his best offense.
The Vinny Factor:
Sergiy has not only adopted Brooklyn as his home in United States but also has been trained by Andre Rosier who also trains Daniel. There is more than just a familiarity between stable mates as the two combatants know each other well in the gym and are friends. For this crossroads match Rosier has elected to train Jacobs while Derevyanchenko has hired Gary Stark Sr. to head his camp. Thereby it is safe to assume Jacobs has the upper hand in training and fight plan as Andre is more enlightened as to what his other protégé’ is capable of and the best methods to defuse him. This is not to impune Mr. Stark’s abilities in any way, shape or form but merely highlight the fact that Rozier will recognize signs of frustration, fatigue, anger, hesitation, or injuries even before Sergiy’s own corner does.
Add the fact that Jacobs is a huge middleweight and the scales literally tip in his direction. First off no one doubts Danny is a hair under six feet but at press conference face offs it’s hard to believe that Sergiy is “only” the advertised two inches shorter. After the weigh ins Jacobs is a rare anomaly who can easily make weight and then rehydrate several divisions overnight before ring entrance. One year ago at the post fight conference, the Luis Arias corner accused Jacobs of entering ring as a full blown cruiserweight. What makes this speculation even more spectacular is the fact that Daniel enters ring ripped, not bloated.
Finally, regardless how well respected Sergiy’s abbreviated ring career has looked thus far he has never come close to swimming the deep waters he is about to tread. Looking good gutting livers and cracking jawbones on boxers you never heard of is a far cry from having eliminated established contenders before ascension for top tier slot.
Fight Significance: B+.
If Derevyanchenko was a known entity beyond hardcore fans and had a resume with viable contenders to prove his number one ranking that was miraculously bestowed on him this matchup would rate an A+. With the current heated debate of Gennady Golovkin / Saul Alvarez 2 scoring still a hot topic with fans as well as Alvarez refusing to fight his mandatory Jermall Charlo the middleweight landscape is now firing on all cylinders. Add last week’s stripping of WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders and the winner of this match takes a huge jump in positioning themselves for world recognition at 160 pounds.
Odds:
Not posted on line but Vegas has installed Jacobs an overwhelming favorite at -1400 with Derevyanchenko at +600
Prediction:
Jacobs is long overdue for an impressive knockout but most likely will settle for a decision victory.
Stay tuned…
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