NEWARK, New Jersey — Jahi Tucker and Lorenzo "Truck" Simpson both had their moments during their competitive middleweight fight Saturday night.

The judges ultimately favored Tucker's work rate, body shots and ability to slip Simpson's power punches in a high-stakes fight he won by unanimous decision. All three judges – Jacklyn Atkins (97-93), John McKaie (97-93) and Tony Lundy (96-94) – scored their fight for Tucker on the Vito Mielnicki Jr.-Kamil Gardzielik undercard at Prudential Center.

The 22-year-old Tucker (15-1-1, 6 KOs), of Deer Park, New York, won a fifth straight fight since he suffered a majority-decision defeat to Nicklaus Flaz and settled for a majority draw with Francisco Veron in back-to-back fights in 2023.

"Just that determination, man, I had to dig deep,” Tucker told The Ring. "You know, my opponent, he really wanted this fight, too. It was a big opportunity for him, too. I wanted it, so I had to go get it, you know? … I really was trying to stop him with those body shots. You know, he's a real tough guy, but I slowed him down for sure."

The 25-year-old Simpson (15-3, 9 KOs), a southpaw from Baltimore, is 2-3 in his past five fights.

Following a ninth round during which Tucker seemed to build on his lead, Simpson hit Tucker with a left hand that made him retreat about 1:10 into the 10th round. Simpson couldn't build on that momentum though, and Tucker took him to the final bell.

Tucker pressured Simpson again in the eighth round and went to his body. He snapped back Simpson's head in one of their exchanges in the eighth round, when he also slipped Simpson's shots at times.

Simpson's left landed at the midway mark of the seventh round, but Tucker took control when hitting Simpson with a left hook about 20 seconds later. That shot made Tucker attack Simpson, who later nailed Tucker with a left hand when they exchanged as Simpson's back was against the ropes.

Tucker showboated toward the end of the sixth round, which enabled Simpson to land a right hook just before the bell sounded to end it. Before that defensive lapse, Tucker connected with two right hands as they exchanged.

Simpson and Tucker landed hard body shots during the fifth round. Tucker got frustrated when Simpson tied him up and roughly attempted to break free, which drew a stern warning from Dali with 1:12 to go in the fifth round.

A right uppercut by Tucker connected with about 15 seconds to go in the fifth round and drew a response from the crowd. Simpson responded by shaking his head and landing a hard left just before the fifth round ended.

Tucker backed Simpson into the ropes almost as soon as the fourth round began. He landed multiple right hands when he put Simpson in that vulnerable position and had much more success in the fourth round than he experienced during the third round.

A left by Simpson backed Tucker into the ropes barely a minute into the third round. Simpson landed a right hook later in the third round, when he was the more active, accurate fighter.

Tucker pressured Simpson for most of a competitive second round and appeared to land the cleaner punches in those three minutes. Both boxers landed their fair share of punches in a competitive opening round.