A WELCOME FROM EDDIE HEARN

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3 A WELCOME FROM EDDIE HEARN HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE HULU THEATER IN THE HISTORIC MADISON SQUARE GARDEN IN NEW YORK AS A TRIPLE-HEADER OF WORLD TITLE ACTION SHAPES THE FUTURE FOR SIX FANTASTIC FIGHTERS. Daniel Jacobs tops the bill as he aims to return to the World champion status that he gained in heroic circumstances. Jacobs was diagnosed with cancer in May 2011, but returned to the ring in October 2012 and then became WBA Middleweight king in The Miracle Man would make four defences before surrendering his title in a tight unification clash with Gennady Golovkin at MSG in Daniel returned to action in his first fight with Matchroom Boxing last November, and with another win over Maciej Sulecki in April, Daniel showed he still has the skill and tenacity to top the world at 160lbs a division that is truly on fire right now. Daniel s route back to World champion status is through the vacant IBF title and pits him against a man he knows well. Sergiy Derevyanchenko trains alongside Daniel with Andre Rozier who will be in Daniel s corner tonight and the pair have sparred countless rounds over their pro careers. The Ukranian technician, who enjoyed huge success as an amateur, and has bided his time to get his first World title shot, sitting at number one in the IBF rankings after four years in the pro game taking him to 12-0 with 10 KOs. With so much on the line as Demetrius Andrade ringside tonight landed the WBO title in Boston last weekend to join Saul Canelo Alvarez as a World champion at 160lbs, Daniel and Sergiy is one of the best and most fascination fights out there to crown a new champion and open the door to massive unification bouts in There s two more great World title fights on the bill and Alberto Machado has the chance to make a massive statement in the Super- Featherweight division with a second defence of his WBA title against Yuandale Evans. Alberto is massive for a 130lber standing a shade under 6ft tall and the unbeaten Puerto Rican will want to land the big fights in the division before he outgrows it. Gervonta Davis holds the WBA Super belt and Tevin Farmer landed the IBF crown in Boston last week fights with those American stars would be huge, as would a South American battle with Mexico s WBC champ Miguel Berchelt. Yuandale has his sights set on those fights too though, and the Cleveland ace is determined to gatecrash that mix and the 29 year old has been bullish in the build-up to his first World title and believes he can stop Alberto. The rise of Women s boxing continues and I cannot wait for the rematch between Heather Hardy and Shelly Vincent. Heather edged their 2016 fight of the year contender in Coney Island, and now they meet again on a massive stage with the WBO World Featherweight title on the line. Both are fantastic ambassadors for the sport and in championing Women s boxing, but tonight they go for glory the first clash was 20 breathless minutes, and I m sure it will be even better this time. A stacked undercard in support of the triple-header of World title fights is topped by Patrick Day defending his WBC Continental Americas Super- Welterweight title against Elvin Ayala the Freeport man is one to watch in There s Irish interest on the bill in 2016 Olympians David Oliver Joyce and Steven Donnelly, Uzbekistan s 2016 Olympic Heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov, unbeaten Brooklyn based Russian Welterweight Radzhab Butaev and a second pro outing for the Albanian Bear Reshat Mati. We would like to thank the Madison Square Garden, Tecate, JD Sports, HBO and all of tonight s officials. We hope you have a great evening and thank you for your support. Programme Editor: Anthony Leaver (anthony.leaver@matchroom.com) Programme Design: Freeze Creative Group (jim@freeze-design.co.uk) Photographs: Ed Mulholland and Justin Bettman

4 JACOBS - I HAVE THE MENTAL EDGE DANIEL JACOBS BELIEVE HIS EXPERIENCE IN WORLD TITLE ACTION GIVES HIM THE MENTAL EDGE OVER SERGIY DEREVYANCHENKO AS THEY CLASH FOR THE VACANT IBF MIDDLEWEIGHT CROWN AT THE HULU THEATER AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN IN NEW YORK ON SATURDAY NIGHT, LIVE ON HBO. Jacobs ( KOs) can become a two-time World ruler at Middleweight with victory over the Ukranian, but with the pair knowing each other inside out having trained alongside one another for years, Jacobs knows that this could be an intense battle with fine margins. The Miracle Man enters his eighth World title contest against The Technician who laces them up in his first bout for an elite belt after reaching 12-0 (10 KOs). The Brooklyn favorite has 44 rounds of action in World title fights, compared to the total of 57 rounds as a pro that amateur standout Derevyanchenko has had. Jacobs believes that experience in his return to Madison Square Garden where he was edged out by Gennady Golovkin in a unification fight in will see him regain World champion status. I feel like I m the strongest Middleweight that he has stepped in the ring with professionally, said Jacobs. The height and the reach are some key things, especially when I set my mind to be being a boxer, I can do that very well. But if I want to come forward or be a counter puncher or even just want to outright brawl, I do believe that I have the power to back it up. So, there s a lot of dangers inside this fight when it comes to both of us. But for me, I truly feel like I have the best advantages. Once you put on ten ounce gloves and you actually go in there and compete with the best, all of these dangers that you have inside the ring, that s when you ll truly know. So, I feel like that I have the advantages when it comes to the mental aspect of the experience of knowing I can go full 12 solid rounds with the best of them and compete at an all-time high level. I mean, I know that. I have it in my bank, I have it in the gas tank already. A guy that s inexperienced with only 12 fights, I would presume that it would be a second guess on his behalf. So, only time will tell but for me, I m just 100 per cent physically and mentally ready. I do see my hand being raised, but how I get the victory I have no idea, but I m willing to get it any way I can.

5 DEREVYANCHENKO - I ALWAYS KNEW I D FIGHT JACOBS SERGIY DEREVYANCHENKO BELIEVES IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE STARS THAT IS FIRST WORLD TITLE SHOT WOULD COME AGAINST A FAMILIAR FACE IN DANIEL JACOBS. Derevyanchenko ( KOs) faces Jacobs for the vacant IBF World Middleweight crown, and having trained alongside each other and sparred countless rounds, the Ukranian amateur ace will stare the Brooklyn star in the eyes and look to join the elite names at 160lbs tonight. Jacobs is a former WBA ruler and the more experienced man in the paid ranks, despite being a year younger than The Technician, but the 32 year old boxed over 400 times in the amateurs and believes he s got more than enough to prevail tonight, despite having been made to wait for his shot. I always thought about fighting Danny, said Derevyanchenko. When we were working together in the gym and training, I always thought about what it would be like if we were fighting together, but I think about that with other folks so now the time has come and it s just reality. The sparring was very good. We helped each other out. It was a lot of technical work that we both learned from each other and at the end of the day, it was just a lot of good work. Of course I have wanted more fights in the pros, but it s not always in my control. I m always training, I m always active so I don t have to work as hard as maybe other people do to get in shape. If people are overlooking me or if they re not talking about me then maybe they don t have anything to talk about me about yet. After this fight, when I show what I am, then all the boxing fans and people who follow the sport will have something to talk about and they will appreciate my technical prowess and they will appreciate what I bring to the sport. I don t think anyone will be afraid of me because at the end of the day, if I have the belt, that opens up all the opportunities for me and for other fighters. And, real fighters who want to be champions should fight guys that have the belts. And if I have a belt and all it should do is make people excited and hungry to challenge me the same way that I feel right now. I don t like to give predictions on fights. All I could tell you is that I trained very hard; it was a very hard camp. I take this very serious. This is the most serious thing that I ve been involved with and I am more than ready for the opportunity.

6 MACHADO - I WOULD LOVE TO UNIFY AT 130LBS ALBERTO MACHADO CAN STAKE HIS CLAIM FOR A UNIFICATION CLASH WITH THE BIG NAMES AT SUPER-FEATHERWEIGHT WITH A SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF HIS WBA TITLE AGAINST YUANDALE EVANS. Machado ( KOs) landed the vacant title a year ago against former champion Jezreel Corrales in upstate New York and shut-out Rafael Mensah in July in his first defense of the strap. The Puerto Rican star now puts the crown on the line for the second time and can stake a claim to meet the likes of newly-crowned IBF ruler Tevin Farmer, Mexico s WBC ruler Miguel Berchelt or WBA Super champ Gervonta Davis with victory tonight but must overcome Cleveland s Evans ( KOs) first. I m totally focused and concentrated on Evans, but of course I m very, very open and I would love to face the big names of the 130lb division, said Machado. If that pops up, any opportunity we ll grab it on Firstly though, I m focused on giving all my fans, all the Puerto Rico fans a big win this Saturday night. It s a dream come true fighting at the Garden like the greatest, Miguel Cotto, Felix Trinidad, Hector Camacho. It s an honor to be there and also fighting on HBO - I became a champion on the network, and now I m just fighting back and defending my title on HBO and at the Garden will be great. We all know that we have power in both hands but, we re not pursuing the knockout. We ll work to the distance and if it happens, it happens. You want to have a solid win for all my fans and all of Puerto Rico as a mecca of boxing, so that s what I m concentrating on. Praise to Gervonta because he deserves it, but everyone knows in boxing that I am the real World champion in the WBA Super Featherweight Division. I dethroned the champion in that moment in Jezreel Corrales and everyone knows all the sacrifices that I have been through. My job is to train hard, get concentrated and I m working with Freddie Roach in LA; I feel more concentrated. The best business and the best opportunity for everybody we ll grab.

7 EVANS: MACHADO WON T GO THE DISTANCE WITH ME YUANDALE EVANS BELIEVES HE HAS ENOUGH IN HIS ARSENAL TO SHOCK ALBERTO MACHADO AND RIP THE WBA WORLD SUPER-FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE FROM HIM IN STUNNING STYLE. Evans faces Machado in his first ever World title fight, and the Cleveland ace has been in buoyant mood all week in the build-up, confident he can crash into the elite fights with the likes of newly crowned IBF champion Tevin Farmer and WBA Super champ Gervonta Davis in Evans picked up fine wins in grueling clashes with Billel Dib and Luis Rosa in 2017 to beef up his confidence for tonight s dream moment and Money Shot is prepared to grab his chance with both hands. I ve been patiently waiting for my chance for so long, he says. It s a dream come true a dream I had as an amateur. Every night, I watch his last three fights before I go to bed and dream about it. Machado is good. He doesn t rush anything and is consistent. He s heavy-handed and jabs well. But he s not a boxer. And he starts fatiguing by the middle rounds and gets sloppy. The fight s not going the distance. Machado let his last couple opponents hit him with everything. They even landed shots they don t teach in boxing I call them emergency 911 punches. I m going to set him up and let it unfold. Evans expects a rematch to take place at some point if he wins. But his plan is to move back and forth between 126 and 130lbs. I called out Carl Frampton, Leo Santa Cruz and Gary Russell, said Evans. I really want to fight these guys. I feel like I have unfinished business at 126. Once I m World champion I m going to be like Roberto Duran, man. You ll see me all over the place. A win on Saturday means everything. A lot of people seen how far I came and the struggles I went through. Imagine how it will feel to strive for something and see that goal completed? I think we can call that my new favorite moment.

8 HARDY - THERE S NO BETTER PLACE TO WIN A WORLD TITLE HEATHER HARDY CAN CLAIM HER FIFRST WORLD TITLE TONIGHT AND SAYS WINNING IS AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN LIVE ON HBO IN A REMATCH WITH SHELLY VINCENT WOULD MAKE IT EXTRA SPECIAL. Hardy goes for the vacant WBO Featherweight title against Vincent, who she edged out in a fight of the year war in New York in 2016, and the pair clash at a time when Women s boxing is on a high. The likes of Katie Taylor and Claressa Shields are household names in the sport and Hardy feels that the sport is growing and she can join the elite with a big win tonight. I really couldn t think of a better way to win my first world title than at Madison Square Garden on HBO, said Hardy. I don t think it s the high point of my career thought as I ve had so many big ones my MMA debut, my pro debut and winning my first WBC title. I think the good thing is that I ve been on the big stage so many times that I don t feel very overwhelmed by it or outside of myself, like I m very focused on what I need to do to get the job done. I don t think that there are so many people saying I don t want to see women fight anymore. Based on like the feedback that we get from the public from general boxing fans, from social media, I really think those days are over. The few people that you ve got out here that are saying things like that, then nothing you can say will change their mind. Watch the fights, you ll see. We were the girls who didn t get a chance to compete in the Olympics. When we were in the amateurs they didn t have Olympic boxing. I was only in the amateurs for one year, but girls who are our age, we didn t have those kind of dreams. So, to be able to have this opportunity on HBO, being the older chick, it s really satisfying. I don t know that this fight will be anything less or anything more than the first, because we went in there and we warred, because style s make fight. That s our style. I don t know if there s any more expectations to put on a show. We re going to do it again.

9 VINCENT: I M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT MY PROPERTY SHELLY VINCENT HAS MADE SPACE ON HER MANTELPIECE FOR THE WBO WORLD FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE AND HAS WARNED BITTER RIVAL HEATHER HARDY THAT SHE LL DO ANYTHING FOR THE WIN. Hardy and Vincent clashed in a fight of the year contender in 2016, with Hardy edging the bout in Coney Island, NY. The pair have waited to tangle again, and with the World title on the line live on HBO at Madison Square Garden, Shellito s Way believes that wait will prove worthwhile tonight. We both work hard and it s going to be great for me to come to HBO and shut down Heather s shot at getting that title, because I m not leaving without that property, said Vincent. The last time we only had three weeks. That s not really much time. I completely had the wrong sparring. The girls were my height or smaller or the guys that I was sparring with this time they were taller, they re going to move more and just the eight weeks makes the difference. I m also not going to be leaning on my front leg like I was last time, but I think that was due to lack of training. I think it s going to be a totally different fight, too. It s going to be very exciting and nonstop punching just like the first time. It s a beautiful feeling. It s something that me and Heather both, but like all women in general been fighting for, especially the ones that came up before all this time. It s the only thing that we ve been reaching for and hopefully keeps more

10 MATI: I M LIKE A BODYSNATCHER! AMATEUR SENSATION RESHAT MATI THRILLED CHICAGO ON HIS PRO DEBUT AND NOW BRINGS HIS BODYSNATCHER STYLE TO HIS HOMETOWN. Mati boxes for the second time in the paid ranks after a successful debut in the Windy City earlier in the month, where he whipped in a trademark bodyshot to stop Adan Ahumuda in the third round of four. The Staten Island, NY. teen sensation is the ultimate fighting machine, having amassed titles across a range of fighting pursuits including Muay Thai, kickboxing and MMA, along with his stellar amateur background in boxing. The 19 year old looked the real deal on debut, and a rapid return to action gives The Albanian Bear the chance to quickly build on his great start. I loved the pro debut because I got a few rounds and then a nice KO, I always want to put on a show, said Mati. I love ripping the body, I m like a bodysnatcher! I need to replicate and build on what I did in the amateurs, because the hard work there brought results. I had over 100 fights, won lots including the Golden Gloves, so that s the bar I ve set myself and I need to rise above it. I can fight aggressively, I can fight off the back foot - I can fight so many different ways. Boxing is like a chess game, you have to figure out your opponent, set traps and make moves. Use their weaknesses against them. I m born and raised in Staten Island, my parents are from Albania and I d love to put boxing on the map for Albania. I ve been in the game for a long time in the amateurs and now I feel I have new goals and challenges in the pros.

11 BEST OF THE REST PATRICK DAY IS A FIGHTER ON THE RISE, AND TONIGHT HE CAN SET UP A BIG 2019 AS HE DEFENDS HIS WBC CONTINENTAL AMERICAS SUPER-WELTERWEIGHT TITLE AGAINST ELVIN AYALA. Freeport s Day ( KOs) has won four in a row, including two bouts for the title that he puts on the line against Ayala ( KOs), and the 26 year old is blocking out the famous venue he fights in tonight to concentrate on seeing off the experienced challenger. I m treating this like any other fight, said Day, 26, of Freeport. I am not like This is the Garden. I could care less about the venue. I could be in a parking lot, as long as I win the fight that s all I care about. I don t mind pressure, I perform well under pressure. The Rio 2016 Olympic Games were stellar for amateur boxing, and three fighters who represented their countries fight tonight. Irish duo DAVID OLIVER JOYCE and STEVEN DONNELLY continue their pro paths tonight, and while twotime Commonwealth bronze medal man Donnelly (3-0) is still in the infancy of his career, Joyce (8-0 7KOs) is edging towards double figures in pro fights and wants to night to be a springboard to bigger things. This is a really big opportunity for me, fighting in the States. To be fighting at Madison Square Garden shows where I m at and this will get my name out there with the big boys. I m still building my record and people don t want to fight me. It s a bit frustrating being so avoided but we ll go on and keep pushing. Every though I m only a year into the professional game, I bring a lot of experience to the ring after my amateur career and people know when they re in there with me, I ve got lots of class. The third Olympian from Rio on the bill is Uzbekistan s 2016 Olympic Heavyweight BAKHODIR JALOLOV and there s action for unbeaten Brooklyn based Russian Welterweight RADZHAB BUTAEV.

12 12 X 3 MINS IBF MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DANIEL JACOBS VS SERGIY DEREVYANCHENKO BROOKLYN 12 X 3 MINS WBA SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PUERTO RICO 10 X 2 MINS WBO FEMALE FEATHERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IRELAND RIDGEWOOD BROOKLYN 10 X 3 MINS WBC CONTINENTAL AMERICAS SUPER-WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FREEPORT RUSSIA UZBEKISTAN BROOKLYN NORTHERN IRELAND BROOKLYN ALBERTO MACHADO VS YUANDALE EVANS CLEVELAND HEATHER HARDY VS SHELLY VINCENT PATRICK DAY VS ELVIN AYALA 8 X 3 MINS WELTERWEIGHT CONTEST 6 X 3 MINS HEAVYWEIGHT CONTEST 6 X 3 MINS LIGHTWEIGHT CONTEST PROVIDENCE NEW HAVEN RADZHAB BUTAEV VS AZAEL COSIO PANAMA CITY BAKHODIR JALOLOV VS TYRELL WRIGHT DAVID OLIVER JOYCE VS JORGE ROJAS ZACAZONTETL 6 X 3 MINS MIDDLEWEIGHT CONTEST MATTHEW GONZALEZ VS SEIFULLAH JIHAD WISE 4 X 3 MINS WELTERWEIGHT CONTEST RESHAT MATI VS KEASEN FREEMAN SOUTH CAROLINA JERSEY CITY MEXICO PHILADELPHIA 4 X 3 MINS SUPER-WELTERWEIGHT CONTEST STEVEN DONNELLY VS ANTONIO HERNANDEZ KANSAS CITY