DANNY JACOBS won the IBF middleweight title in New York on Saturday, pulling out a thrilling split decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

Jacobs scored a first-round knockdown and that helped him build just enough of a lead to hold on in a tight finish in which both fighters were swinging wildly across the late rounds.

He won 115-112 on Tom Schreck and Steve Weisfeld’s cards, while judge Julie Lederman scored it 114-113 for Derevyanchenko.

“Hats off to Sergiy. I knew he was a true competitor,” Jacobs said. “I knew he was going to be hard so I had to dig deep.”

Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) took the belt that was vacated when Gennady Golovkin chose not to fight Derevyanchenko, his mandatory challenger, this spring while awaiting his rematch with Alvarez.

Alvarez won that bout and is moving up to super middleweight for his next one. He’s expected to return to 160 pounds afterward and Jacobs, who narrowly lost to Golovkin last year, wants to be the opponent.

“The fans want it,” Jacobs said. “Now I have the strap, let’s do it. I’d rematch Triple G but he’s not a champion. I want the champs.”

Derevyanchenko (12-1), who had more than 400 fights as an amateur but has had trouble finding work as a pro, fell just short in his long-awaited first shot at a title.

He wanted it in the spring but Golovkin wouldn’t face Derevyanchenko when he searched for another opponent after Alvarez’s failed drug test caused the original date for their rematch to be scrapped.

Derevyanchenko showed why even Golovkin wouldn’t have wanted him, landing big shots to Jacobs’ body in the middle rounds and just missing with some to the head that could have done major damage later.

“Sergiy is one of toughest and most skillful I’ve ever been in with,” Jacobs said. “He’s been avoided but I wanted to fight him for the strap. I needed that strap to get the bigger fights. It’s risk and reward.”

(SD-Agencies)