On the Liam Paro vs. Richardson Hitchins undercard, rising welterweight contender Jalil “Major” Hackett looks to dominate when he returns to the ring to face Jose Roman (13-1, 6 KOs) on Saturday night, December 7. at Coliseo Roberto Clemente, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, live on DAZN.
Hackett has a chance to make big strides in a short period of time because welterweight is a weight class in transition. With the departure of pound-for-pound star Terence “Bud” Crawford and with standout welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis considering a move to 154, the welterweight division is starting to look like the land of opportunity.
Back in March 2021, then 18-year-old Washington native Jalil Hackett signed with Mayweather Promotions. After being part of the Mayweather Promotions roster for three years, Hackett decided to leave due to a lack of activity.
Hackett was marked as a free agent for a month and then signed a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing. Two months later, Jalil Hackett stepped inside the squared circle to take on 34-year-old veteran Peter Dobson.
On the night of July 13th, Hackett got off to an aggressive start as he routinely landed a stiff jab followed by a chopping right hand. Hackett was in complete control of the first half of the fight as he was able to stand in the pocket and land solid shots to the head and body of his opponent.
In the later rounds, Peter Dobson tried to make a comeback as he increased his work rate and found success when he managed to land between shots. At the end of the 10-round contest, the judges scored the bout 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94 in favor of Jalil Hackett.
With the win, 21-year-old Jalil Hackett (9-0, 7 KOs) captured the WBA Continental North American welterweight title. Hackett is currently ranked 14th by the WBA, and he goes into Saturday night’s contest looking to dominate against a very credible opponent.
A native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Jose Roman began his professional boxing career with eleven consecutive victories. Roman suffered his first defeat when he lost to Cesar Francis by unanimous decision.
Roman would bounce back as he is currently on a two game winning streak. Now, the 31-year-old is on the verge of facing a young, hungry contender who sees Romano as an obstacle he must overcome to get closer to achieving his career goals.
On Saturday night, when Jose Roman fights for the title belt, he’ll have home court advantage, but that’s something Hackett doesn’t mind. During an interview with ISM Media, Hackett spoke about his mindset going into Saturday night’s fight as a visitor.
“I like it. You know, I’m fighting a Puerto Rican in Puerto Rico, I look at it as a little bit of a hostile takeover.
Jalil Hackett believes he will either dominate and shut down his opponent early on Saturday night or dominate for 10 rounds. Hackett is confident he can stop Roman early if he follows the game plan and lines up his shots.
Since joining Matchroom, Jalil Hackett has loved the pace at which he’s been moving, and as he looks forward to 2025, he’s put WBO light heavyweight champion Brian Norman Jr. on his radar. Hackett sees that match happening in the near future, but before he can focus on the current WBO world champion, Hackett has to take care of business on Saturday night, live on DAZN.