Jalil Hackett (9-1, 7 KOs) was set to avenge his December loss to Jose Roman (14-1, 6 KOs) this Saturday, March 15th at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida. At yesterday’s press conference he looked ready and primed to put on a spectacular performance.
Stating that they would announce a new WBA Continental North America welterweight champion or as they say in Puerto Rico, “Y El Nuevo,” translating to, “And the New.” He has the warrior mentality, where you take on tough fights to prove your worth, you beat tough opponents, and demonstrate your greatness. He doesn’t believe in building your resume with soft opponents. He wanted nothing more than to avenge his loss and continue his path.
However, after the press conference, he suffered what can be described as a freak accident. While coming out of the sauna, he slipped, injuring his right foot. “I was coming out of the sauna, you know how the sauna got two levels, so on the way down from one of the levels I slipped and lost my foot type of sh*t. Instead of landing like flat on my foot, I landed on the ball of my ankle. My sh*t immediately swelled up.” said Jalil when asked about the injury.
He was visibly upset and disappointed he’s unable to fight this Saturday. He did state he plans to remake the rematch with Jose Roman for this summer. Many fans were looking forward to the rematch and demand for it remains high. With a full recovery, Jalil can make good on his promise and avenge his loss. Roman was awarded a split decision victory in the December match with two judges scoring it 96-94 for Roman, and the third favoring Hackett 96-94. Hackett appeared to control the early rounds by targeting the body, but appeared to slow in the middle to late rounds.
Jalil asked for this fight despite being offered other fights. “I didn’t have to take this fight, Matchroom didn’t offer this fight first, they offered other fights first. My team didn’t want this fight. I said I want this fight because this is the dude I just lost to. This is something I was more than anxious, more than ready. This is one of my better camps I’ve had, you know. This is just a heartbreaker.”
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