Mayweather Promotions’ young welterweight contender, 20-year-old Jahlil Major Hackett, clinched the WBC youth title after defeating Adrian Gutierrez (12-2-1, 6 KOs) in three rounds at Red Owl Boxing in Houston, Texas on Friday night.
The fight was part of Boxfest 6, an event highlighting the talents of promising young boxers. The WBC Youth Championship, a minor title for emerging professional boxers, was up for grabs in the bout.
Prior to the fight, native of Washington, D.C., Jahlil Hackett expressed his ambition of becoming a multi-weight world champion and viewed winning the WBC Youth Championship as a significant step in that direction. He also emphasized his strategy of ending fights early, as no overtime is paid in boxing.
In the first round, Hackett utilized a long jab to get inside and landed several left hooks to Gutierrez’s head and body. Towards the end of the round, Hackett’s hard left hook caused Gutierrez to stagger back to his corner with faltering legs.
In the second round, Hackett engaged in aggressive head and body attacks, finishing with a sharp uppercut followed by a powerful right shot.
The third round saw both fighters exchanging punches at close range. With 1:14 left, Hackett’s big left-handed shot knocked Gutierrez to the canvas. Although Gutierrez managed to rise, Hackett unleashed a barrage of punches, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
With this stoppage win, Jahlil Hackett (8-0, 7 KOs) pushed his stoppage streak to five and celebrated the victory. However, he acknowledged the need to address the mistakes made in the bout, stating, “It was a good performance, obviously we got him out of there. We had a lot to work on and we made a lot of mistakes, but that’s why we took advantage of the gym. We’ll get back in the gym and work on those mistakes, but tonight we’ll celebrate a good win against a tough opponent and go back to square one on Monday.”
