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HBO Boxing Results: Jacobs Defeats Derevyanchenko in Slugfest, Hardy and Machado Win

Posted on 10/28/2018

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.

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Don’t Call It A Comeback, Part 2: Boxing Insider Interview with Yuandale ‘Money Shot’ Evans

Posted on 11/29/2017

By John Freund

On November 10th, 2017, Yuandale ‘Money Shot’ Evans scored a split-decision victory over previously undefeated Luis Rosa for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Featherweight title. The fight – which aired live on ShoBox – comes on the heels of Evans’ upset win over top-ranked Billel Dib in April. Due to contractual disputes, Evans had fought only twice in the 5 years prior to the Dib win. Boxing Insider interviewed Evans after the Dib victory, and below is our follow-up on the Rosa fight and what lies in store for Evans’ resurgent career.

Boxing Insider (BI): Congratulations on the big victory. What does it feel like to win a hard-fought battle on ShoBox in front of your home crowd?

Yuandale Evans (YE): It feels amazing, man. I was a bit edgy to hear that it was a split decision… I don’t want people to think I won the fight because it was at home. I want people to respect me because I’m a true champion and I pulled that ‘W’ out. But other than that it feels amazing.

BI: This was a classic boxer/brawler fight. During the early rounds, Rosa took the fight inside, and to a lot of people’s surprise you seemed willing to stay there. Were you trying to prove that you could brawl with this guy, or were you simply fighting on instinct and willing to trade?

YE: Mostly instincts and I was willing to trade with him. I wanted that guy tired. I thought that going in there and brawling with him was maybe the dumbest thing I ever did, but it actually turned into a positive because it was one of the most action-packed fights in years on ShoBox. I could have boxed him and wore him down with the jab, but I just felt like that guy is like a Raging Bull, and the only way you can get with him is if you really ‘get with him’ on his level. I can box and I can brawl, so I chose a different technique and just rolled the dice and tried that.

Like I said, the first round it wasn’t good to do that – but I don’t think it worked against me. The adrenaline, the action; I think that needed to happen. I think both fighters needed to be tested.

BI: During the middle rounds, you found your jab and began maintaining distance. How were you able to make that mid-fight adjustment?

YE: My coaching. My trainer. My corner – Barry Hunter – he was the reason I was able to make that adjustment. Barry just told me to have trust in him and trust in my jab. Seeing that Rosa could take a punch, I had to resort to Plan B, which was to box and to keep him turning. And while I was doing it he wasn’t touching me. He was getting frustrated. He even took his foot off the gas. I have 59 inches of reach and I’m 5’5” and 126lbs, so the best thing I could have done was box. I gave the viewers and ShoBox the brawler, but now it was time for me to box.

So I made a statement to the Featherwieght Division and to my up and coming opponents: I’m not to be messed with! I can box and I can brawl, and I also have defense. I was standing in the ropes and the corner and just was dipping shots with my hands down to my stomach. So I gave a little bit of everything just to show my weight class and ShoBox and my fans that ‘here you go, I’m gonna give you what you want to see.’

BI: He caught you with a strong right in the 8th. You seemed hurt, but you not only managed to survive, you came back and dominated the end of the round. What do you attribute that to?

YE: The 8th round – that was one of my favorite rounds. I feel like I lost that round, but I felt like I was smart with my decisions. He couldn’t hit going in; he landed a lot of shots but they weren’t effective. He landed that shot while I was lacking with my right hand – he caught me in an exchange and he wobbled me. I took one step back and I fell on my back leg. The biggest mistake he did was he rushed me. He rushes me and I grabbed him and all I was thinking mentally was ‘let’s play it smart.’ So I grabbed him and I waited. I was able to recover, and I stepped to the left and I hurt him. I hydrated right before the fight and lost weight the right way, so I was able to recover after a shot like that where I wouldn’t have been able to when I was a kid. It’s very important for a boxer’s career to recover, and I recovered fast.

I feel great about the way I went about that – after I got hurt, I did the right thing: I held him. If you’re hurt, just hold him (laughs). I ended up getting a lucky punch off after that. I was ready to get back in the game, and I ended up clipping him. Hats off to both fighters, we both survived, no cuts, so it was a great experience.

BI: The last 2 rounds turned back into a brawl, but you managed to land the cleaner, more effective punches. Did you feel like you were winning as the fight ended?

YE: Yeah, because I went to what I was told to go to from the start, which was boxing. I threw a lot of punches in the last round. Basically, I wanted the fight easier to be judged. This guy was sloppy; he was head-butting me, he was elbowing me, he was so tight in this fight that you couldn’t judge what he was throwing. He threw 4 jabs in 10 rounds, so nothing looked clean from his way. You could see him land shots, but nothing was exactly clean. Like I said on TV, this fight could be judged 3 or 4 different ways, but Evans landed the straighter shots and the cleaner, more effective shots.

For the 9th and 10th rounds though, I knew I had those rounds. I gave it my all, and I wanted it more than him. On his Instagram page, everyone is saying, ‘You got robbed.’ I’m like ‘Clearly you didn’t get robbed. An Ohio judge had you winning the fight.’ At the end of the day, it is what it is. I passed the test with him and came out with the victory.

BI: What did you learn about yourself after this fight?

YE: I got wiser. I got more mature and smarter about some things. I learned that I still make mistakes. My legs are too straight, my chin is too high. I learned that I still go into dog fights in the early rounds.

But I learned some things that I already knew as well. My entire layoff, I knew that I would come back stronger. I stayed dedicated, I stayed devoted to my craft. I told Billel Dib when I fought him, ‘Bro, you’re going on my old fights when I was knocking bums out. I can box, I have defense. I am way better than I used to be. You’re going to have problems with me.”

So I definitely learned that I matured and that I listen to my corner, and I also learned that I still make mistakes and that I’m still hard-headed and I like to brawl. So at the end of the day, I learned good and bad.

BI: After all the contractual issues you’ve had with promoters and managers, and the resulting inactivity, how does it feel to come back and win two big fights against top-ranked opponents?

YE: Oh my god man, it feels so good, man! Billel Dib was a top-10 guy in the rankings, and I was like a nobody. And then to come out and win this fight, it feels so good, man, because I know deep down inside that I belong. I have that passion – I put in those days and those hours. I sparred with Gervonta Davis, Rau’shee Warren, Luis Franco, Gamboa and Rigondeaux. I know deep down inside that I belong where I am right now. I just had to get in that position. I didn’t let a 3-year layoff break me down. I came from nothing, and I was back at nothing. So I just had to keep working, keep working, keep working. That’s all you have to do in life. You cannot fail by trying. You only fail if you don’t try at the end of the day. If you don’t succeed, that’s not failing – that’s still succeeding, because you tried. How can you lose if you try?

BI: The Featherweight division is one of the most stacked in boxing. Where do you think this performance places you? Are you in line for a title shot, or will you next face a top contender like Scott Quigg or Jesus Cuellar?

YE: In all honesty, I feel like that fight should put me in the top-10. And I want to fight the top-5. After a warrior-fight like that, I feel like, you can’t go wrong putting me in the top-10, and you can’t go wrong having me fight the top-5. I feel like I can beat Santa Cruz. I know I can beat Santa Cruz. I KNOW I can beat Santa Cruz. I feel like me and Frampton would have a war, but I can beat Frampton. I feel like Gary Russell is too little. I’ve grown up against Gary Russell. He’s fought against guys I fought against in the gym. And he’s a great fighter – I don’t discredit any of those guys. But when you have passion, you want those big fights. Those are the fights I want.

BI: You keep going the way you’re going, and I’m sure you will have a title fight some time soon. One final question: The Lomachenko-Rigondeaux fight is 2 weeks away. Who ya’ got?

YE: Rigo. I’m going Rigo. I grew up around him, sparring with him in Miami, and that guy is amazing. Lomachenko is great too, but nobody’s gonna beat Rigo. I can’t wait for that fight, man.

BI: We’re excited too. Congrats again on the big win, and hopefully we’ll see you in a championship fight of your own real soon.

YE: Thanks a lot, thanks for having me.

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Don’t Call It A Comeback: Boxing Insider Interview with Yuandale ‘Money Shot’ Evans

Posted on 05/12/2017

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK: BOXING INSIDER INTERVIEW WITH YUANDALE ‘MONEY SHOT’ EVANS
By: John Freund

Yuandale Evans has fought 20 pro fights and maintains an impressive 19-1 record, but his toughest fight came outside of the ring as he battled his own promoters for years in what has sadly become an all-too-common storyline in professional boxing: The never-ending contractual dispute. Evans fought only twice in 5 years during the prime of his career, yet somehow maintained the mental and emotional fortitude necessary to remain in peak fighting condition. And just when he was about to call it quits, the Boxing Gods came calling in the form of a short-notice fight against former World Champion, Billel Dib… on a Lou DiBella card, no less! Evans made the most of his opportunity, scoring a hard-fought unanimous decision upset. We talked with Evans about his trials and tribulations, the long hard road to success, and what lies ahead for the man they call ‘Money Shot.’

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Tell me about your background. Why did you get into boxing?

When I got into boxing, I was only 10. I have a younger brother who started boxing a year before the age amateur boxers are supposed to start fighting. So I was supporting him and traveling with him a lot, and I took a liking to it. Before that I was a straight-A student. I was into arts, drawing, coloring, computers – definitely computers – that’s one of the things I went to college for, computer engineering. I was always a laid-back, people-person. I didn’t know I could fight, because I never got into fights.

So what was that 1st fight like? A lot of butterflies?

Without the head gear and with the smaller gloves, I felt like a bird let out of a cage – like I could do anything I wanted – that I could hit, that I couldn’t be touched. And it was a lot easier for me, being that I have a pro-style, I’m a big puncher. I definitely was nervous – my debut was on HBO in Biloxi, Mississippi, on a Roy Jones Jr. undercard. So I was definitely nervous being that it was going to be televised.

After a promising start to your career, you suffered a 1st round KO in your only loss to a very tough opponent, Javier Fortuna. What happened in that fight?

Both of us being southpaws, I went up and he went over. He landed with a lot of power, and my gloves touched the mat, but the ref didn’t say anything! He didn’t call it a knockdown. I was a little confused by that, and I was hurt too. I had never been hurt before in my entire life! But oh man, I was hurt… and he rushed me with a bunch of punches and he pinned me on the ropes. My corner didn’t tell me to hold, and I had never had that experience before, so instead of grabbing and holding, or moving out of there, I continued to fight. It was just a case of me never being in that type of situation before, and not really knowing what to do.

After that fight, you had a 39-month layoff between 2012 and 2015 due to contractual issues with various promoters. What was that time like for you?

It was one of the worst times of my life. I had started going back to college, so I started getting in debt with student loans. And my team stopped believe in me. I actually left my trainer that I had been with since I was 10. I was really upset because I felt like I couldn’t get to where I should go or where I should be, but at the same time, I feel like I had to go through all that to become the man I am today.

How do you stay mentally motivated during those lean years?

I’ve always been mentally motivated. I’ve never had male role models, so I’ve always motivated myself to do better. I just decided to put in the work. I started getting back in the gym, getting in tip-top shape. I was at training camps, I was sparring everybody who was winning and fighting – every top guy. And everyone was promising me things, saying, “hey, we didn’t know you were still in the game, we’re going to get you signed.” It was basically all just to keep me in training camp, to get their guys more work.

Did you ever think of quitting?

Oh definitely (laughs). Right before DiBella called me, I was telling my fiancé, “I’m done with this.” I was at a point where I’m either going to work a job and go back to school, or I’m going to box. And being a boxer wasn’t paying the bills. I kept leaving jobs to go to training camp and to go to the gym and train for fights that I was getting called for.

Were you still getting a lot of calls?

Oh yeah, we were getting calls. It could be a guy that’s 100-0, and we’d say, “yeah, we’ll fight him.” They’d say ‘okay,’ and they’d give us a BS purse. We’d say, “yeah, we’ll take it anyway, we just want to get on TV.” And then a week or two down the line, they’d call and say, ‘Ohhh, Evans is too tough. We don’t want that type of fighter, we’re looking for a lower caliber fighter.’

Your last fight was your first in 1.5 years, and you took it on short notice – 1 month after you proposed to your fiancé – to face an extremely tough Billel Dib. Going into that fight, Dib was ranked #6 by the WBO. Not to mention he is the bigger guy, and you were jumping up in weight. How did you prepare for all of that?

I had 5 sparring partners. I sparred 2 junior welterweights, and 1 middleweight. I was doing resistance sparring with those guys – what that is, is no break/no bell, 4/4/4. I started swimming. I was dieting. I started running like 7 miles every other day. And I was doing the sprint-and-run workout that Adrian Broner taught me when I was in training camp with him. This was also the first time I actually watched one of my opponent’s fight videos. He fights tall, so I actually thought he was a lot taller (laughs)… I had a 6-foot sparring partner!

You scored a tough UD win, which has given you a lot of attention. What are your hopes for the future now that you have a spotlight on you?

I’m looking for titles, man. I’m back down at 126, and I’m looking for title fights at 126 – I’m looking to take that division over. I want to at least fight 2 more times this year, before the year is out. I’m looking for those big names.

What advice do you have for young fighters looking to sign with promoters? What should they look out for and be aware of?

My advice, for one: never give up. Even when it gets bad, even when it gets rough, even when you lose your first fight – never give up. Adversity should fuel your fire, it should make you want to go harder. Keep your focus, be level-headed, and just keep going and keep driving. As far as with the promoters and managers, it’s political. If you’re a money-maker, they’re gonna deal with you. If you’re not a money-maker, you have to become one… you have to become TV material. My approach is: be polite, be a gentleman, and be somebody that can kick ass too.

You were successful after two very long layoffs in your career. What advice do you have to any fighter looking to make a comeback after a long layoff?

My advice would be to stay in the gym. Stay mentally and physically in shape. Make sure your body can go those rounds. Dieting – I’m a small guy, I’m not a big eater anyway, so I can’t really give a dieting suggestion. I just stayed ready and I did a lot of sparring. I did 12 or 15 rounds just to be prepared. I sparred with junior welterweights and a middleweight to make sure I could take their punches. Just keep going hard and keep in shape and keep training.

Besides Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson, who’s the greatest boxer of all time?

Roberto Duran. I met him when I fought out in Vegas on B-hop and Roy Jones’ card. I got a pic too. He’s a great guy. He looks like a giant Super Mario brother (laughs).

Thanks for taking the time to speak to us, and congrats on getting engaged – when’s the big day?

We’ve got the month – not the official date. September of next year, Cancun.

Great. Hopefully you’ll be a champion by then…

Hopefully I’ll be more than 1 by then!

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