At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Daniel Jacobs scored a unanimous decision victory over Maciej Sulecki, handing the Polish fighter his first loss with the scorecards reading 115-112, 116-111, and 117-110.
The fight was broadcast live on HBO premium network, with Jacobs very happy about fighting in his hometown and the matchup being approved as a World Boxing Association (WBA) final eliminator to fight WBA Middleweight Super Champion Gennady Golovkin.
Jacobs did not disappoint the hometown crowd, although he did have quite the challenge on his hands as Sulecki put on display his quick hands and straight punching while also proving to be pretty elusive defensively. He proved that he belongs in the ring with the best in the world but in the end it was the hard punching of Jacobs that secured the victory in emphatic fashion with a knockdown in the twelfth and final round to seal the deal on the unanimous decision victory.
Also on the HBO card broadcast from the Barclays Center Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, who improved his record to 21-0-1 with 18KO’s, as he scored a unanimous decision victory over Johann Duhaupas with scores of 119-109, 119-109, and 117-111 in a WBA heavyweight eliminator for Anthony Joshuas title.
Miller pressed forward with his hulking 300lb frame for the entire fight, showing some slick defensive reflexes as he taunted Duhaupas at times by dropping his hands while still right in Duhaupas’s chest but using head movement to slip most of the punches coming his way.
Duhaupas showed a chin and durability while having his moments periodically in the fight but simply not having enough firepower to hurt Miller and stop him from walking him down. Miller showed good stamina and had a solid work rate throughout the fight but one has to wonder if he was a little too open with his defense at times.
Shohjahon Ergashev improved his record to 12-0 while going the distance for the first time in his career against Zhimin Wang for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) International Super Lightweight World Title, with the scorecards reading 100-90, 100-90, and 99-91.
Ergashev has an extensive amateur career and looks to be a real blue chip prospect but he showed some signs of frustration against Zhimin, who is crafty and defensive minded. It appeared that Zhimin was more concerned with going the distance than having a real fight break out, but he did give Ergashev a bit of a test and showed the Uzbeki fighter that you simply cannot knockout everyone.
