By: Hans Themistode

IBF champ Daniel Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) will have the biggest challenge of his career when he takes on fellow champion Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs). The two are slated to do battle at the T-Mobile arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jacobs has been in big fights before, but this will undoubtedly be his toughest yet. Not many are expecting the Brooklyn born native to defeat the Mexican super star. It’s understandable, Canelo, after all is one of the very fighters in all of boxing. The task of defeating Canelo will be a difficult one, but it isn’t impossible.

Photo Credit: Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions

So how exactly will Jacobs go about picking up the biggest win of his career? Keep reading as we tell you the three keys that will lead the “Miracle Man” to victory on Cinco De Mayo.

Hold Your Ground

The key to beating Canelo is movement correct? Wrong. This is a huge misconception when facing the unified Middleweight champion. Amir Khan attempted this method and was knocked out. Miguel Cotto and Austin Trout also tried to implement this game plan and was throughly outboxed in the process. Erislandy Lara did the best job of using not only movement but a consistent offensive attack to keep Canelo at bay. Although most felt Lara did more than enough to win the contest, Canelo still came home with the victory. Why?

It’s because, simply hitting Canelo with meaningless shots and moving wasn’t enough to sway the judges in Lara’s favor. Instead, he should take a page from the book of Floyd Mayweather.

When the aforementioned Mayweather and Canelo fought back in 2013, Mayweather spent long durations of that contest holding his ground and outboxing Canelo in the center of the ring. There were even times were Mayweather pushed back the much bigger Alvarez. Traditionally, Jacobs has always been a mover. For this fight however he needs to hold his position and not let Canelo bully him inside the squared circle.

Keep The Jab Going All Night

Coming into this contest Jacobs has a three inch height and reach advantage, he should be able to connect with his jab at will. Canelo possesses excellent head movement but if Jacobs continually fires off his jab he should be able to connect at will. Luckily for Jacobs the jab is one of his best weapons. The jab will not only cause Canelo to rethink how he plans on getting closer to his man, but it will also Jacobs to follow up with something vicious behind it.

Canelo is such a versatile fighter, that it is difficult to prepare for his form of attack. However, he is still the shorter fighter by a significant margin. If Canelo elects to march forward, Jacobs should make him pay in the form of eating leather from his jab all night long.

Stay Off The Ropes

Jacobs has a habit of staying on the ropes. In most instances, it’s a good thing. Once Jacobs gets there he isn’t a sitting duck. On the contrary he often times makes his opponent miss while landing big shots of his own. While this game plan may win against other fighters, trying it against Canelo will lead to the IBF champions downfall. Canelo is a terrific combination puncher. Not only does he often times find his mark but he also manages to get his opponent in serious trouble as well.

Most importantly those flashy combinations catch the eyes of the judges, and that is the last thing that Jacobs wants to happen. We all understand the narrative that is surrounding Canelo, he seems to get favorable decisions. Siting back on the ropes and allowing him to tee off won’t be the wisest decision for Jacobs.

Keep the action off the ropes. Jacobs can’t afford to let Canelo trap him against the ropes repeatedly, it will be a recipe for disaster.

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