Listen Now:
By: Hans Themistode
With years of nonstop trash talk coming from Gabriel Rosado, paired with numerous occasions in which both men nearly said forget the gloves to get it on right on the spot, former middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs simply couldn’t find his motivation when the two met in the main event slot at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Jacobs, 33, was viewed as head and shoulders above Rosado. According to oddsmakers, a stoppage win was expected to take place as he was tabbed a -3000 favorite. Meaning, to win $100 you would have to bet $3,000 on a Jacobs victory.
Yet, despite the odds, the New York native struggled with his Philadelphia rival. The incentive for Jacobs was there but after 12 lackluster rounds, the former two-time middleweight belt holder admitted that the motivation wasn’t there after all.
“I guess a C minus, C plus,” said Jacobs when asked to grade his performance during the post-fight interview. “Definitely wasn’t my best performance or best outing. I wasn’t as aggressive or as fluent as I wanted to be with letting my hands go. I guess I must’ve got caught up with wanting the knockout. It was just one of those days. I guess in boxing your head needs to be 100 percent in the game and I just don’t think I was 100 percent in the game but my experience allowed me to get the victory tonight.”
For Jacobs, his contest against Rosado was the second in the super middleweight division. Although Jacobs (37-3, 30 KOs) was a two-time champion one weight class lower, the Brooklyn product said on numerous occasions that he wanted to slowly get acclimated to life in his new weight class.
Following his unimpressive win against Rosado though, Jacobs believes two fights and one full year at 168 pounds is more than enough time to get adjusted and would like to move on to the elite level of the division.
“I think I can go ahead and partake with some of the big names in the division. I want all the champions in the super middleweight division. Just because I had one lackluster performance doesn’t mean that next time around against better opposition, someone who is going to throw more punches, someone who is going to be actually in there to win is going to cause for a better show.”
With his feud with Rosado now seemingly behind him, Jacobs guarantee’s to be a much better version of himself the next time around. His showing isn’t something that he is proud of but with that being said, Jacobs believes there could be a silver lining.
“I think this is my opportunity even with this performance. Hopefully, a lot of guys would like to fight me based off this performance but I expect to be 100 percent come next time around.”
