Tag Archives: daniel

Posted on 01/17/2019

By: Sean Crose

Canelo Alvarez, the biggest fighter in the world today, will be facing a top opponent in Daniel Jacobs on a major card to be aired live on the DAZN streaming service this May 4th, Cinco De Mayo weekend. Canelo-Jacobs, which perfectly fits the bill of a Pay Per View fight, will be seen for free by DAZN subscribers. It’s all a part of a three fight deal Brooklyn’s Jacobs has inked with DAZN and promoter Eddie Hearn.

“This is the opportunity I have been waiting for,” Jacobs says. “The opportunity to achieve greatness inside the ring, I have always believed I can beat Canelo, and on May 4 live on DAZN, I will get my chance to play it out. It’s been nearly four years since Canelo has faced an American challenger. It’s going to be a huge event where I believe I will cement myself as the best middleweight in the division.”

Jacobs, who fought an impressive battle against Gennady Golovkin in March of 2017, will be stepping into the biggest fight of his career. Although many felt Jacobs won the Golovkin fight, Golovkin walked away with a controversial decision win. Golovkin then went on to fight Canelo twice, drawing once and losing once, both in controversial fashion. With a third Canelo-GGG fight apparently not happening (at least for the time being) a very interesting throwdown between Canelo and Jacobs now awaits.

For the Canelo-Jacobs match will essentially decide who the top fighter is in the middleweight division. Three out of the four major belts are at stake, along with the Ring Magazine lineal championship. Although the location of the match has yet to be announced, Las Vegas might look to be a sure thing, with New York and Dallas also being in the running. “What a fight!,” says Jacob’s promoter, Hearn. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that Danny Jacobs gets this opportunity to fight Canelo on Cinco de Mayo in a massive unification fight.”

Although Canelo-Jacobs is a top level bout by anyone’s standards, the fact that it is the first truly major match to be aired on DAZN makes the pairing particularly intriguing. “On any other network or platform, Canelo vs. Jacobs would be an expensive pay-per-view,” Joseph Markowski, DAZN EVP of North America, says. “At DAZN, we believe the best fights should be available to our subscribers at no extra charge.”

Jacobs has stayed busy since the Golovkin fight, earning the IBF middleweight title by besting Sergiy Derevyanchenko last fall. Canelo, on the other hand, won the WBC and WBA titles via his win over Golovkin in September. The WBO middleweight strap is held by Demetrius Andrade, who will be fighting Artur Akavov this Friday in New York in a match to be aired live on DAZN. One of the reasons the signing of Jacobs to DAZN is so significant is that now every major titlist in the middleweight division fights on the streaming service. That means a battle for all the major belts and titles could very well arrive in the near future.

The missing piece to all this is, of course, Golovkin, who has not declared what his next move will be now that HBO, which regularly hosted his fights, is out of the boxing business.

Posted on 01/17/2019

Boxing’s biggest star will take a step closer to becoming undisputed champion as Canelo Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) defends his WBC, WBA, Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Titles in a 12-round unification fight against IBF Middleweight World Champion Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) during the celebratory weekend of Cinco de Mayo. The champion-vs.-champion event will take place Saturday, May 4, 2019 and will be streamed exclusively live on DAZN.

Additional details for the event, including venue and ticket information, will be announced shortly.

Canelo is a 28-year-old native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico who became the top man in the sport by facing the best competition and making the best fights for the fans. At 154 pounds, Canelo captured several world titles and defeated the likes of Austin “No Doubt” Trout, Sugar Shane Mosley, Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo, Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara and Liam “Beefy” Smith. However, Canelo scored his most significant victory yet at 160 pounds, where he defeated Gennady “GGG” Golovkin in their highly anticipated rematch in September 2018 and established himself as the WBC, WBA, Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion. Canelo then made history by signing the most lucrative sports contract for an athlete in history to begin a groundbreaking, exclusive partnership with global sports streaming platform DAZN that saw the last king of pay-per-view boxing step into a new era as the new king of sports streaming.

In his debut performance, Canelo became a three-division world champion by knocking out Rocky Fielding in three rounds to capture the WBA Super Middleweight World Title in December 2018. Canelo will return to middleweight for this fight as he continues to clean out the 160-pound division.

“I’m happy to announce my next fight during the festive weekend of Cinco de Mayo,” said Canelo Alvarez. “I will unify my middleweight titles against Daniel Jacobs on one of the two most important dates that belong to me. I have no doubt that I will be victorious and that I’ll be one step away from becoming the undisputed middleweight world champion. And what better way to watch it than on as tremendous a platform as DAZN.”

Jacobs is a 31-year-old native of Brooklyn, New York who is widely considered as one of the best middleweights of this era. Despite being away from the sport for 19 months, due to a form of bone cancer that he courageously overcame, Jacobs rose up the middleweight rankings to win the WBA Middleweight World Title against Jarrod Fletcher in 2014. Jacobs made several successful defenses, including a thunderous first-round knockout of Peter Quillin the following year. Despite losing to Gennady Golovkin in a very close fight in 2017, Jacobs has remained undefeated since his return, defeating former amateur champion and middleweight contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko to capture the IBF Middleweight World Championship. Jacobs will look to capture more middleweight hardware in the biggest fight of his career.

“This is the opportunity I have been waiting for. The opportunity to achieve greatness inside the ring,” said Daniel Jacobs. “I have always believed I can beat Canelo, and on May 4 live on DAZN, I will get my chance to play it out. It’s been nearly four years since Canelo has faced an American challenger. It’s going to be a huge event where I believe I will cement myself as the best middleweight in the division.”

Canelo Alvarez wants the best fights and the biggest challenges,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “That’s what he did as the 154-pound champion, and that’s what he’s doing now as the king of the middleweight division. We are also proud to demonstrate to boxing fans that this new partnership with DAZN means that fans will get pay-per-view level fights without the cost of pay-per-view. Golden Boy Promotions is continuing its promise to make the sport as accessible as possible by putting this champion-vs.-champion fight on the platform.”

“What a fight! I can’t tell you how happy I am that Danny Jacobs gets this opportunity to fight Canelo on Cinco de Mayo in a massive unification fight,” said Eddie Hearn, Managing Director of Matchroom Sport. “Victory would cap one of the most incredible, inspirational boxing stories of our generation, and Danny and the team will be putting everything in place to lead him to victory. Respect to Canelo and Golden Boy for accepting this challenge, and congratulations to DAZN and their subscribers for getting this incredible fight with no extra cost. Let’s go May 4! Let’s go Daniel Jacobs!”

“On any other network or platform, Canelo vs. Jacobs would be an expensive pay-per-view,” said Joseph Markowski, DAZN EVP of North America. “At DAZN, we believe the best fights should be available to our subscribers at no extra charge.”

Canelo vs. Jacobs is a 12-round fight for the WBC, WBA, Lineal, Ring Magazine and IBF Middleweight World Titles presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Matchroom Boxing. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING” and Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle.” The event will take place Saturday, May 4, 2019 and will be streamed live on DAZN.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, http://www.matchroomboxing.com, and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @DanielJacobsTKO, @MatchRoomBoxing, and @DAZN_USA. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/SaulCaneloAlvarez, www.facebook.com/MatchroomBoxing and https://www.facebook.com/DAZNUSA/. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @DanielJacobsTKO, @MatchroomBoxing

Posted on 12/12/2018

By: Sean Crose

IBF Middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs will be watching Canelo Alvarez fight live and in person on Saturday as the Mexican star aims for super middleweight glory against WBA titlist Rocky Fielding. “Daniel Jacobs is gunning for a Middleweight World title unification battle with Canelo Alvarez in 2019,” promotional outlet Matchroom Boxing claims, “and the IBF World ruler says their showdown is one of the biggest fights in boxing.” Jacobs has been aligned with Matchroom kingpin Eddie Hearn for some time now, and is looking for major opposition. “Jacobs,” Matchroom claims, “wants Canelo to return to Middleweight and put his titles on the line in a huge Cinco de Mayo showdown.”

Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing USA

Canelo-Jacobs would certainly be an interesting, high stakes affair. Both men are extremely skilled, both men hit hard, and both men have had tight battles with powerhouse Gennady Golovkin, battles which have all ended in controversial decisions. While many argue that Canelo didn’t deserve his decision win over Golovkin last autumn, many also feel that Golovkin didn’t deserve his decision win over Jacobs in 2017. Although Canelo is certainly the top star at middleweight, there is no consensus as to who the best middleweight in the word is right now. Jacobs’ name is certainly in the running.

“I’ll be there front and center on Saturday night,” says Jacobs. “It’s no secret that my focus is on Canelo. There is no other fight in boxing I want right now more than him.” The Brooklyn native rightly sees himself as a top level opponent for Canelo, who is widely regarded as boxing’s biggest star. “This is not only the absolute biggest fight to be made in the division,” Jacobs says, “but one of the biggest in all of boxing. As long as he takes care of business on Saturday night I’m ready to go. Let’s give the fans and the sport of boxing what they want and let’s get this done for May 4.”

Naturally, Hearn would love to see Jacobs and Canelo throw down in the spring. Indeed, it’s a fight that might be easy to make since Canelo is now associated with DAZN streaming service, which also broadcasts Hearn’s stable of fighters. “I’m rooting for a Rocky Fielding win this Saturday,” Hearn says, “and when Canelo returns to Middleweight, THE fight for May is the Canelo vs. Jacobs unification.”

Hearn is eager to have his man’s presence be felt at Madison Square Garden this weekend, which is where the Canelo-Fielding match will go down.

According to Hearn, Canelo-Jacobs is “a fight he (Jacobs) wants and one he believes he wins. He will be there on Saturday with among the star-studded crowd watching very closely.”

Posted on 10/28/2018

By: William Holmes

HBO’s run as one of boxing’s premier destinations is coming to an end, and tonight may have been their last telecast from New York City.

HBO’s World Championship Boxing put on a triple header live from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

The opening bout of the night was rematch between Heather Hardy (21-0) and Shelly Vincent (23-1) for the vacant WBO Women’s Featherweight Title. Their first fight was considered by many to be a fight of the year candidate in 2016.

Hardy walked into the ring with a four inch height advantage.

Both boxers started the fight right where the left off, by throwing a large number of punches and landing several good shots. Hardy appeared the be winning the early rounds with more accurate punches and good body shots, but Vincent kept up the pressure.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account

Hardy appeared to have slowed down a little bit in the fourth round and may have given that round to Vincent, but she picked up her pace again in the fifth and sixth rounds and used a good consistent jab and strong hook to the body to win these rounds.

Hardy had a bad cut open up over her left eye in addition to an earlier cut over her right eye by the seventh round but she continued to fight on. Vincent had some blood coming from her nose at the end of the round and the volume of punches that both women were landing were showing it’s effect on their faces.

Vincent continued to press the action in the eight round and was able to land a few good shots to the body of Hardy, but Hardy landed harder counters and appeared to be landing with more power.

Vincent probably needed a knockout in the final two rounds to win this bout, but neither boxer were known for their power and neither came close to a knockdown, but still threw an incredible number of punches.

Heather Hardy remains undefeated with a decision victory by scores of 97-93, 97-93, and 99-91.

The next bout of the night was between Alberto Machado (20-0) and Yuandale Evans (20-1) for the WBA “Regular” Junior Lightweight Title.

Machado is a rising star in boxing and looked to be the taller fighter in the ring.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account

Machado was able to land a good straight left hand early on to the chin of Evans that sent Evans to his butt on the floor. Evans was able to get back to his feet, but was staggered by a right hook and was met with a flurry of punches that forced Evans to touch the mat with his gloves for a second knockdown.

Evans returned to his feet and was checked quickly by the referee and indicated he could go on, but was met with another Machado combination that ended with a clean left hook that knocked Evans out and sent him crashing backwards to the canvas.

Alberto Machado wins by knockout at 2:25 of the first round.

The main event of the evening was between Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0) and Daniel Jacobs (34-2) for the IBF Middleweight Title.

Both boxers showed they knew each other well in the opening round and respected each other’s power. Derevyanchenko let Jacobs know he was in a fight by landing a short right immediately after a break. Jacobs jab kept a good distance and he was able to score a knockdown with an over the top right hand. Derevyanchenko got to his feet and survived a Jacobs onslaught as the round came to an end.

Derevyanchenko was the aggressor in the second round and recovered well from his earlier knockdown. Derevyanchenko was pressing forward on Jacobs which forced Jacobs to switch to a southpaw stance to better keep a distance from Derevyanchenko’s right hand.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account

Jacobs did good work to the body in the third and fourth rounds but both boxers were loading up on their punches and landing hard shots.

Derevyanchenko attacked the body of Jacobs in the fifth round and had Jacobs walking backwards into a corner or rope several times throughout the round. Jacobs was able to land a few good shots this round, but Derevyanchenko was the aggressor.

The sixth round featured a lot of fireworks as both boxers threw with reckless abandon and landed hard shots to the body and head. Jacobs though appeared to be a little more accurately, but was still being uncharacteristically wild.

Derevyanchenko was breathing heavily by the seventh round but still coming forward. The body work of Jacobs was showing signs of paying off in this round as Jacobs still had snap in his punches while Derevyanchenko appeared to be losing steam.

Jacobs defense was much more effective in the eighth and ninth rounds and he was finding a home for his uppercuts. Jacobs had pulled ahead to a comfortable lead by the tenth round, but Derevyanchenko may have stolen that round with some successful flurries.

Jacobs looked like he would have been ok with boxing safely in the final two rounds, but Derevyanchenko made Jacobs work for his victory as Derevyanchenko continued to press forward and aggressively go for a knockout and had Jacobs looking exhausted as the fight came to an end, but Derevyanchenko took some hard shots in the process.

Daniel Jacobs wins the decision with scores of 114-113 Derevyanchenko, 115-112 Jacobs, 115-112 Jacobs.

Posted on 10/23/2018

By: Rich Mancuso

Canelo Alvarez holds the WBC Middleweight title and last week became the richest athlete in sports with Matchroom Boxing and DAZN. Saturday evening two championships in the division changed hands and now the middleweights are the talk of boxing.

Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden, Daniel Jacobs gets his opportunity on HBO with the iBF title middleweight title up for grabs. Jacobs (34-2, 29 KO’s) opposes Sergly Derevyanchenko, 12-0, the undefeated pro formerly of Feodosia Crimea, Ukraine who has more of an amateur background.

Welcome again to the middleweight division. Daniel Jacobs sits in the middle of this, a division that suddenly is compared to the elite fighters at 147. That weight class has dominated and is highly contested.

Similar to the complexion and change of televised boxing, so goes the middleweight title that has been highlighted with Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. And according to Eddie Hearn, promoter of Matchroom Boxing, the middleweight division has the top fighters.

“The middleweight division is class,” Hearn said on a conference call Monday afternoon. Hearn now has rights to Canelo Alvarez and said the winner of Jacobs-Derevyanchenko could fight Alvarez in May.

So the process, and as difficult as it can be, is to unify the middleweight titles. And with the different promoters, titles, and networks unifying the titles can be difficult. However, Hearn has the capability to get that accomplished and every fighter in the division will be aiming at getting that opportunity to challenge Canelo Alvarez.

“I think its a great time to be a middleweight in the division,” Jacobs said on the conference call. “A great time for the middleweight championship.”

Though Daniel Jacobs “The Miracle Man” knows this is the proper time, he sits in the middle. Alvarez is also aiming for the super middleweight title at Madison Square Garden in December but still holds the number one spot.

Rob Brant dethroned Ryota Murata on the WBA side and former 154lb world champion Demetrius Andrade defeated Walter Kautondokwa and claimed the vacant WBO middleweight title on Saturday night. Yes, in a matter of a few hours the complexion of this division changed.

And this is all good for boxing. As always, there has to be unity and Daniel Jacobs with a victory at the Garden Saturday night would no longer be sitting in the middle.
Eddie Hearn could be the promoter that gets the unity accomplished. Again, he has been at the forefront of changing the complexion of the sport with DAZN and signing big name fighters.

“You are going to see a lot of these big unification fights,’ he said. “Another champion in Andrade. Think with now the championship spreading out, three champions, the winner Saturday night is in prime position to fight Canelo.”

Assuming Jacobs gets the win, anything is possible. The middleweights have become as good as the always talked about welterweights.

“Being in one of the hottest divisions I’m looking to take advantage,” Jacobs said “Time to get a middleweight belt and campaign for some of these bigger and better fights. I don’t believe in sharing belts. I want unification ”

He added: This is a good time. The fans are the one who will benefit the most.”Jacobs has the advantage Saturday night and is the favorite. His opponent is undefeated in 12 professional fights
but is also motivated for something bigger, a piece of this middleweight title.

“This is a respected belt,” he said. More so, this is how Daniel Jacobs gets out of the middle of this pile and once again becomes a dominant middleweight.

And all you have to do is listen to co-promoter Lou DiBella. His perspective of where this division will stand after the Jacobs fight does speak volumes. That elite division of welterweight champions and contenders is in good company.

“Boxing is a business,” said DiBella. “When you get past the heavyweights we’ll see big middleweight fight after big middleweight fight.”

Comment: [email protected] Twitter@Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso

Posted on 04/29/2018

By: William Holmes

Eddie Hearn promoted Daniel Jacobs at the Barclays Center in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York tonight on the HBO network.

Three major fight cards were shown on US Television tonight, with the HBO show being broadcast last.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account

Attendance looked sparse at the beginning of the telecast as Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (20-0-1) took in Johan Duhaupas (37-4) in a WBA Heavyweight Title Eliminator.

Miller weighed in at 304 pounds and was able to easily walk Duhaupas down in the opening rounds. He connected with two good overhand rights in the first that forced Duhaupas to cover up.
Miller continued to walk Duhaupas down in the second round and was able to land some heavy uppercuts on Duhaupas by the ropes. Miller was warned to keep his punches up when he landed a shot below the belt in the second round.

Duhaupas was able to land some short combinations in the middle of the ring in the third round but Miller took those shots well and landed several good short shots.

Miller had Duhaupas stunned in the fifth round when he momentarily switched to a southpaw stance. Miller’s controlled the pace and distance in the sixth and seventh rounds, but Duhaupas was able to show enough offense in the eighth round to maybe steal it form Miller.

Miller looked like he was slowing down a little bit in the ninth and tenth rounds but tagged Duhaupas several times in the eleventh round and looked close to knocking him down.

Duhaupas was a little hesitant to come out for the final round but did so at his corner’s urging. He was far too behind to win by decision in the final round and looked like he was trying to survive rather than trying to win as the fight came to an end.

Jarrell Miller wins by unanimous decision with scores of 119-109, 119-109, and 117-111.

The main event of the night was between Daniel Jacobs (33-2) and Maciej Sulecki (26-0) in a WBA Middleweight Eliminator.

The crowd was very vocal throughout this fight and Jacobs looked like the bigger fighter in the ring as Sulecki has spent a lot of his career fighting in the junior middleweight division.
Sulecki showed good upper body movement early on and was able to land a solid straight right hand on Jacobs when he switched to a southpaw stance in the second round.

Jacobs connected with a good hook/uppercut combination in the third round and was getting his timing down better. His shoulder roll defense was working for him and Jacobs ended the third round strong.

Jacobs landed a strong left hook at the end of the fourth round and his cross arm defense was giving Sulecki fits in the fifth round.

Sulecki however remained slick throughout and may have stolen the seventh or eighth rounds, but he wasn’t throwing combinations and seemed ok with landing one to two punches at a time while Jacobs was more likely to throw combinations.

Jacobs hand speed was more apparent in the later rounds though he was getting hit by Sulecki. Jacobs focused more on the body in the tenth and eleventh rounds.

There were a lot of swing rounds in the middle rounds, but Jacobs saved his best round for last when he connected with a combination ending right hand that sent Sulecki to the mat. Sulecki was able to beat the count and end the fight swinging, but Jacobs appeared to have done enough to win the fight.

The judges scored it 116-111, 117-110 and 115-112 for Daniel Jacobs.

Posted on 03/06/2018

By: Sean Crose

“Roc Nation maintains an unwavering commitment to humanitarianism across its brand portfolio, working to advance social good globally and provide opportunities for vulnerable populations to succeed. Roc Nation supports the expansion of client’s philanthropic efforts through three key areas: full service management of their foundations, philanthropic advisement, and strategic, high-impact partnerships.” – Roc Nation’s web site.

Daniel Twitch Franco is now recovering from brain surgery. It says so on his Twitter page, for all the world to see. Has Roc Nation Sports, which promoted Franco when he was severely damaged while acting as one of companies’ boxers, done anything to help Franco aside from its most fundamental legal obligations? Nope. I reached out to Franco last week to ask if Roc Nation had suddenly and belatedly decided to show concern for its former fighter’s well-being. Franco assured me that Roc Nation has remained as indifferent to his plight as ever – at least on the surface of things – even though he and his family are in debt up to their eyeballs in medical expenses.

Make no mistake about it, what happened to Franco and his family is life changing stuff. And while Roc Nation has presumably done all it legally has to, it would be nice if the company, or if it’s founder, Jay-Z, would reach out to help a former fighter in need. Don’t expect that to happen. Whether Jay-Z is even aware of Daniel Franco’s existence, much less his plight, is legitimately up for debate. You can’t criticize a guy for not helping someone he’s never even heard of, after all.

You can criticize Roc Nation, however, for showcasing its “Philanthropy” on its home page while letting one of its own struggle without batting so much as an eye. Of course, Roc Nation may (“may” being the operative word here) be trying to help the Franco’s behind the scenes. If that were the case, however, it would be nice if the company would let the Francos know. Needless to say that, as of this writing, Roc Nation has yet to return my call for this article (I left a message around 10:30 AM Friday morning. It’s now around 12:30 PM Monday afternoon). This is no surprise, as the entity is famous in the boxing world for being less than easy to deal with.

This isn’t a question of boxing, however. This is a question of reaching out to someone – or to at least show empathy on a basic human level. No doubt there’s a team of lawyers tossing legitimate concerns Roc Nation’s way on this matter. That, however, doesn’t make the silence here any less deafening. While other companies might scramble to fix a situation like the one regarding the Francos, Roc Nation appears unmoved by criticism. That, however, doesn’t make its treatment of the Francos any less right.

Not that anyone who can do anything about it seems to care. Daniel Franco knew what he was getting into when he took up boxing, but one would hope a company cashing in on boxers would go the extra yard when boxers get hurt.

Posted on 11/12/2017

By: William Holmes

Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sports put on their first HBO card featuring their newest signee, middleweight Daniel Jacobs, at the NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

Three bouts were televised tonight. The opening bout was between Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin and Roberto Ortiz in the junior welterweight division, the second bout was between Jerell Miller and Mariusz Wach in the heavyweight division, and the main event was between Daniel Jacobs and Luis Arias in the middleweight division.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter

The first bout of the night was between Cletus Seldin (25-0) and Roberto Ortiz (35-1-2) in the junior welterweight division.

Cletus Seldin wasted no time and took the pressure right to Roberto Ortiz and knocked him down with a big overhand right in the first twenty seconds of the opening round. Ortiz was able to get back up and had to withstand an aggressive assault by Seldin. Seldin as able to land two good uppercuts that forced Ortiz to take a knee, who complained about getting hit behind the head.

Seldin continued his pressure into the second round and opened up a bad cut over the left eye of Ortiz from a hard right hook. The ringside doctor took a look at the eye of Ortiz but allowed the fight to continue.

By the third round blood was pouring out of the cut above Ortiz’s eye, and Seldin was loading up with his right hands and was looking for a stoppage. An elbow to the nose by Seldin forced Ortiz to take a knee, but his cut above his eye was bleeding badly.

The ringside doctor took another look at the cut over Ortiz’s eye and told the referee the fight should be stopped.

Cletus Seldin wins by TKO at 2:43 of the third round.

The next bout of the night was between Jarrell Miller (19-0) and Mariusz Wach (33-2) in the heavyweight division.

Wach was active with his jab in the first round and was able to use his height advantage to keep Miller at bay. Miller was able to land a few jabs of his own, but Wach was more accurate with it in the opening round.

Miller was landing more punches in the second round, including some good short right uppercuts. Miller’s hand speed controlled in the third and fourth rounds and he was showing a good variety of punches and combination.

Wach was able to have some success with his straight right hand in the opening four rounds, but stopped throwing it midway through the fifth after lading a good straight right hand.

Wach complained to his corner that he hurt his right hand before the start of the sixth and basically stopped throwing it during that round. Miller was greatly outlanding Wach by this point and even had Wach momentarily stunned in the middle of the seventh round.

Wach’s corner could have stopped the fight before the start of the eighth round, but they allowed Wach to continue fighting while only using one hand. Wach’s right hand hurt so bad that he showed visible signs of pain even when he blocked a punch by Miller.

Wach came out for the start of the ninth round but he was still not using his right hand. The referee jumped up to the ring canvas and told the referee to stop the fight.

Miller wins by TKO at 1:02 of the ninth round.

Daniel Jacobs (32-2) and Luis Arias (18-0) met in the middleweight division in the main event of the night.

Jacobs was the taller fighter and had the obvious power advantage going into this fight. His power was evident in the opening round when he landed a hard right cross that forced Arias to try to tackle Jacobs to keep from taking more punishment. Jacobs landed a good lead left hook at the end of the first.

Arias was warned to keep his punches up in the second round but he continued to focus to the body. Jacobs ended the second round with a good combination.

Jacobs walked Arias down in the third and fourth round and was able to land some good right uppercuts. Arias had a good right hand in the fifth round, but that was his only effective offense displayed in the first half of the fight.

Jacobs looked extremely confident in the seventh and eighth round as his accuracy gradually increased. Arias was fighting while moving backwards in the ninth round and Jacobs did not look worried about Arias’ power at all.

Arias needed a knockout or at least a flurry of knockdowns in the championship rounds in order to win the fight, but that never came. Jacobs just continued to apply pressure and land hard shots to the body and head and was able to score a knockdown in the eleventh round, even though it was a clipping hook that landed behind the head.

The judges scored it 118-109, 120-107, and 119-108 for Daniel Jacobs.

Posted on 11/10/2017

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Eddie Hearn’s latest acquisition, Daniel Jacobs, will be on display on HBO. He will be facing Luis Arias in the main event of the evening. Two other bouts are also planned to be broadcast, a heavyweight fight between Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller and Mariusz Wach in the heavyweight division and a junior welterweight bout between Cletus Seldin and Roberto Ortiz.

The NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York will be the host site for Saturday’s boxing card.

Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing

The following is a preview of Saturday’s HBO card.

Cletus Seldin (25-0) vs. Roberto Ortiz (35-1-2); Junior Welterweights

The opening bout of the night will be between Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin and Roberto Ortiz in the junior welterweight division.

Seldin is a local fighter with a large, supportive fan base. He’s fought in New York for most of his career with a large majority of his fights taking place at the Paramount Theatre. He’s undefeated, but he is currently thirty one years old and his window of opportunity for a legitimate world title fight is getting smaller.

His opponent Roberto Ortiz is the same age and has fought mainly in Mexico. He fought one time in the United States and was stopped by Lucas Matthysse. Ortiz will have a slight two and a half inch height and reach advantage.

Neither Seldin or Ortiz has a notable amateur background in boxing. However, Seldin does have experience in wrestling and judo. He also was a finalist in the New York Golden Gloves tournament.

Both boxers have decent power. Seldin has sixteen stoppage wins on his resume while Ortiz has twenty six. Seldin has never tasted defeated while Ortiz was stopped in his one fight against a big name opponent.

Neither boxer has any big name victories. Seldin’s best wins were against Jesus Selig, Johnny Garcia, and Bayan Jargal. Ortiz’s best wins were against Reyes Sanchez and John Aparicio.

This is an excellent test for Seldin and it will be the toughest of his career. Ortiz has a good record, but lost the only fight in which he faced a good opponent. Seldin should be able to win a close victory, but we’ll definitely have a better idea if he’s a legitimate contender on Saturday night.

Jarrell Miller (19-0) vs. Mariusz Wach (33-2); Heavyweights

Jarrell Miller is an intriguing heavyweight prospect in that he has experienced some surprising success in another combat sport, that being kickboxing.

He was able to defeat UFC veteran Pat Barry in a kickboxing match and went 19-0 in Muay Thai before going to kick boxing. He found some success in kickboxing’s prestige league, K1, and lost to UFC veteran Mirko Cro Cop twice by decision.

He has been very successful since switching to boxing. He’s undefeated and has seventeen stoppage wins, including eight stoppage victories in a row. He fought once in 2017 and three times in 2016.

Miller does have some amateur boxing experience. He made it to the finals of the New York Golden Gloves and lost to Tor Hammer on points. His opponent, Mariusz Wach, also had a successful amateur career and was a Polish National Champion and an Olympic alternate.

Miller will have an eight year age advantage on Wach, who is currently thirty seven years old. Wach will have a height advantage of about three and a half inches and a reach advantage of four inches.

In addition to being tested as a kickboxer, Miller also has defeated some notable heavyweights. His notable wins include Gerald Washington, Fred Kassi, and Donovan Dennis.

Wach’s biggest wins have come against Tye Fields, Kevin McBride, and Jason Gavern. His losses were to Alexander Povetkin and Wladimir Klitschko.

Wach’s age and relative inactivity is a concern. He fought only once in 2017 and once in 2016, against less than impressive opposition.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about a potential heavyweight fight between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua, but an impressive win by Miller could result in him getting a title shot before Wilder and Joshua meet inside the ring.

Daniel Jacobs (32-2) vs. Luis Arias (18-0); Middleweights

Daniel Jacobs earned the title of “Miracle Man” after defeating a diagnosis of bone cancer in 2011. He was previously signed to Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) but has recently decided to sign with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sport.

Jacobs had a very successful amateur career. He was a Junior Olympics National Champion, a Police Athletic League (PAL) National Champion, and a National Golden Gloves Champion. His opponent, Luis Arias, also had a very successful amateur career. He was a US National Champion at middleweight in 2008 and 2010 and was also a Gold Medal PAL winner.

Arias is twenty seven years old and three years younger than Jacobs. Jacobs will have a very sleight half an inch reach advantage over Arias.

Jacobs has a large edge in power over Arias. Jacobs has stopped twenty nine of his opponents and nine of his past ten fights were TKO victories. Arias only has nine stoppage victories, but three of his past four fights were TKO victories.

Jacobs has the better professional resume of the two boxers. He has defeated the likes of Ishe Smith, Jarrod Fletcher, Caleb Truax, Sergio Mora, and Peter Quillin. His losses were a close decision loss to Gennady Golovkin and a shocking knockout loss to Dmitry Pirog.

Arias has defeated the likes of Arif Magomedov, Scott Sigmon, and Jorge Silva.

Arias does have an edge in activity. He already fought twice in 2017 and fought three times in 2016. Jacobs has only fought once in 2016 and once in 2017.

This should actually be a tougher fight for Jacobs than most expect. Arias has the amateur background to match Jacobs and he has never tasted defeat. He’s also been in the ring more often than Jacobs and won’t have to worry about ring rust.

However, Jacobs was very impressive in his defeat to Gennady Golovkin and is filled with confidence. Arias has never felt the power of a boxer like Jacobs and has never been in the ring as a professional with someone of Jacobs’ caliber.

This is Daniel Jacobs’ fight to lose, but Arias has enough talent to make it closer than expected.

Posted on 11/01/2017

By: Sean Crose

Top middleweight Daniel Jacobs may be taking his November 11th opponent, Luis Arias, seriously as a foe. What Jacobs is not doing, however, is taking Arias seriously as a talker. “It is kind of hard to listen to him because he is trying to force you guys into believing something that does not exist or really is not there,” Jacobs said of Arias on a recent conference call. Still, Jacobs claimed he wasn’t shocked by Arias’ words, as Arias was once part of Floyd Mayweather’s stable of fighters.

Photo Credit Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing

“You have to realize that this guy is a former TMT (The Money Team) guy,” said Jacobs. “He is used to the brash talk.” There’s little doubt that the 18-0 Arias is at least talking a good game in the lead up for a bout most expect him to lose. “I’m going to rough him up,” he told me. “I’m going to be in his face all night.” Some might argue that’s not the best strategy to employ against a man with an over eighty percent knockout ratio, but Arias appears confident as his showdown with Jacobs at New York’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum approaches.

“I do think he’s over-rated,” he said, referring to Jacobs. “If you go and look at his record,” Arias went on to add, “there is nobody there that he beat.” British promoter Eddie Hearn, who has recently teamed up with Jacobs, wasn’t willing to sell Milwaukee’s Arias short. “Maybe I’m a little bit different,” Hearn claimed. “Maybe I’m too much of a fan – it the upset comes, the upset comes.” Not that there was any questions where the man’s loyalty could be found. “Of course Danny Jacobs is our guy,” he said, “and I want him to win but if Luis Arias goes out there and gets the victory – good on him.”

I asked Hearn if Jacob’s impressive performance against Gennady Golovkin at Madison Square Garden last winter had anything to do with his interest in the Brooklyn native. “Many felt that he won,” Hearn said of that fight. “You know that he’s on that level.” The promoter made it clear, though, that he was well aware of the cold, hard facts of the matter. “He (Jacobs) didn’t win (the Golovkin fight),” he stated, “and that’s the reality of it.”

Jacobs also came across as a practical man on the call. After admitting he’d like to knock Arias out, Jabobs went on to say that he “would be completely fine getting a decision.” A decision? Against a man he’s clearly supposed to be better than? “I’m a boxer puncher,” Jacobs explained, “and I love to box.” In fact, Jacobs is such a realist that he made it clear where he feels he stands in relation to Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, who Golovkin recently fought to a draw. “I know,” he said, “that even though these guys aren’t really fearful of me, right now I’m in a lose-lose situation with those guys because I am not technically a champion.”

“They know it’s not worth it to step in there with a guy like me,” Jacobs continued. “I’d rather continue to do my job, climb the ladder, get a title eventually and maybe chase these guys, but to fight me right now? I don’t see that happening.” And so, for the moment at least, there’s Arias. “My job is to continue what I’ve been doing,” said Jacobs. “I’m a professional and have to act accordingly and the goal is to get the job done and look impressive.”

Posted on 10/04/2017

By: Sean Crose

Middleweight contender Daniel Jacobs recently announced that he had teamed up with British super promoter Eddie Hearn. Not only that, Jacobs also made it clear that he had teamed up with HBO. It was obviously a fresh start for the man who gave middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin a run for his money when they met in New York’s Madison Square Garden last winter. Now it’s been announced that Jacobs, the skilled 30 year old with a record of 32-2, will be facing the undefeated 18-0 Luis Arias at New York’s Nassau Coliseum on November 11th.

Photos Courtesy Matchroom Boxing/Ed Mulholland

The bout will headline an HBO card that will also showcase heavyweight Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, as the 19-0 knockout artist (all but two of his fights haven’t made it to the final bell) battles Mariusz Wach, 33-2, in a 12 rounder. Miller recently defeated contender Gerald Washington in impressive fashion last July. This time around, he’ll be facing a man who once fought Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight championship (he lost by unambitious decision). Wach has won six out of seven since his 2012 title loss, however, and will clearly see this as a chance to make a mark of a very large stage.

As for Milwaukee’s Arias, the chance to face the fighter known as “The Miracle Man” is the opportunity of a lifetime. The 27 year old has never fought anyone near the level of Jacobs before. What’s more, Jacobs is a native of Brooklyn. That means Arias will be facing a New Yorker in New York. Wach, a native of Poland, will be finding himself in the same situation as Arias that night, for Miller is a Brooklyn native, like Jacobs. For his own part, though, Arias is eager for the 12 round opportunity that’s presented itself. “I’ve been hungry for a fight of this magnitude,” he says, “and I’m going to shock the world.”

If that were to be the case, it would prove disastrous for promoter Hearn, who clearly has big plans for Jacobs. “We believe that Danny is the number one middleweight in the world,” he claims, “and the aim is to collect every belt in the division.” England’s Hearn is clearly aware of something American promoters haven’t been – the fact that Jacobs is marketable. A pleasant personality and cancer survivor with a high ring IQ and thunderous power, Jacobs remains a man to watch at middleweight, despite the fact that he dropped a decision to Golovkin in a very close fight. Indeed, Jacobs remains a serious threat to Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin and any other big name in the middleweight division And his alliance with Hearn – along with HBO – only serves to make the threat he presents more formidable.

Provided, of course, that he gets past Arias this November.

Posted on 07/29/2017

Daniel Lozana wins WBO NABA Super Flyweight Championship
By: James Cullinane

Always be prepared.

Any good trainer will reinforce that with his fighters because you never know when you might get the call that could change your life forever. And the ones who are dedicated, the gym rats who stay in fighting shape even without a fight lined up, are the ones who will capitalize. After tonight, you can add Daniel “Alacran” Lozano to the list of fighters who stay prepared.

In a stunning upset, Lozano (14 – 4: 11 KO) defeated former champion, David “Severo” Carmona (20 – 5 – 5; 8 KO), with a knockout 2:33 into the second round to win the vacant WBO NABA Super Flyweight Championship in the main event of All-Star Boxing’s “New Generation” fight card held at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida Friday night.

Jose “Chiquiro” Martinez, the current WBC Latino Super Flyweight Champion withdrew from the fight after Carmona weighed in four pounds over the limit. A testy exchange ensued between Carmona and Martinez’s trainer at the weigh-in when Carmona shrugged off the violation as no big deal. The fight, which was to be featured on Telemundo’s Boxeo Summer Series Grand Finale, was then called off late Thursday.

Enter Lozano. With less than twenty-four hours to prepare, he rocked Carmona with a sweeping left two minutes into the second round. Badly shaken, Carmona willed himself off his back just in time to beat the count, but he was obviously still hurt from the punch.

Moving in quickly to finish, Lozano threw a rangefinder left hook that surprisingly landed clean, before unleashing a right that caught Carmona on the top of the head and dropped him to the canvas for a second time.

And suddenly, Daniel Lozano was a champion.

In the lead-up fight to the main event, Top Rank fighter Jean Carlos “Chapito” Rivera (12 – 0; 7 KO) continued his impressive streak of victories with a third round TKO of Juan Carlos Benavidez (7 – 10 – 1; 4 KO).

Rivera, from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, landed a sharp right hand in the first round that put Benavidez on the canvas. After a quiet second round, Rivera came out strong in the third, landing a hard body shot that hurt Benavidez before finishing him with an impressive left uppercut – left hook combo just under the two-minute mark of the third round.

In the preliminary bouts, Manny Woods, Jr. (16 – 6; 6KO) from St. Pete, FL, landed a crushing, straight right to drop Danny “Bebo” Pastrana 1:38 into the second round of their middleweight clash.

After the feeling-out opening round, Woods’ corner must have sensed something as he came out swinging from the outset of the next round, stunning Pastrana with a power punch moments before catching him coming off the ropes with a clean shot to the chin.

For Pastrana, a popular, local fighter from Kissimmee, it was a disappointing result after a years-long layoff from the ring.​

The other Top Rank prospect on the card, lightweight Henery “Moncho” Lebron (3 – 0; 3KO), from Aguadillo, Puerto Rico, crumbled Oscar Quezada Mendoza (5 – 4; 2KO) from Aguas Prieta, Mexico with a devastating body shot 2: 19 into the first round, a shot that left Mendoza rolling on the canvas long after the fight was called.

In the opening fight of the night, Noe Lozano (2 – 1) from Ft. Pierce, FL won a split decision, outpointing Daruma Almenarez (1 – 2; 1KO) from West Palm Beach, FL in a closely contested 4-rounder.

Posted on 03/24/2017

Overweight Jacobs Should Fess Up and Quit Crying After Loss!
By: Ken Hissner

On March 17th Gennady “GGG’ Golovkin, 36-0 (33), got on the scale and it was 159¾ while Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs, 32-1 (29), stepped on the same scale and it was 159½.

Golovkin was defending his WBA, WBC and IBF titles while Jacobs was the WBA World champion. The following day Jacobs failed to show up and meet the IBF rules of a day of the fight weigh-in to keep the weight differences at a maximum ten pounds. Golovkin got on the scales and it was 170 pounds. If Jacobs got up the day of the weigh-in and was 180 pounds he would still have a ten pound advantage in the fight. He obviously was over 180 and possibly as much as 185 and forfeited fighting for the IBF title and possibly having the entire fight cancelled. You know Jacobs got on a scale Saturday morning in order to decide not to show up for a second weigh-in or he would not have skipped Saturday’s weigh-in.

The fight itself lived up to the hype and then some. Jacobs fought well above what was expected which may have given a false opinion for many. In the fourth round Jacobs went down which can be considered the difference of winning and losing at the end.

Judge Max DeLuca scored it 114-113 while judges Don Trella and Steve Weisfeld scored it 115-112 as did this writer. DeLuca gave both fighters 6 rounds each while Trella and Weisfeld 7 rounds to Golovkin and 5 to Jacobs. Though listed as having a 1” advantage in height Golovkin had to look up to Jacobs who obviously had at least a 3” advantage in height.

The way the scoring broke down was as the following:

Golovkin took rounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9. Jacobs rounds 2, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12. Each fighter took 6 rounds apiece but the fourth round was the difference when Golovkin scored the lone knockdown of the fight to take a 10-8 round. Four of the twelve rounds were 2-1 to the winner. Those were Golovkin in the third, Jacobs in the second, seventh and twelfth rounds.

Golovkin keeps his WBA, WBC and IBF titles and improves to 37-0 with 33 knockouts. He is 34. Jacobs drops to 32-2 with 29 knockouts. He is 30. Golovkin made 17 WBA super world defenses, 3 IBF defenses and 1 WBC defense while Jacobs made 4 defenses. Golovkin has been a professional for 11 years and Jacobs 10 years.

Golovkin’s manager Tom Loeffler stated the next defense will be in June in KAZ. Their hope is WBO champion southpaw Billy Joe Saunders, 24-0 (12), from the UK with 1 defense will back up his mouth and put his signature on a contract with all 4 titles on the line.

Golovkin has a tentative September date with WBC super welterweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 48-1-1 (34), who must defeat Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., 50-2-1 (32), on May 6th with a 164½ weight limit. Alvarez has 7 defenses. He has never weighed more than 155 pounds.

Chavez was WBC World middleweight champion and had 3 defenses. His last 5 fights have been at super middleweight with a 172½ high. In his last fight in December of 2016 he came in at 168.

Posted on 03/20/2017

Golovkin-Jacobs Was A Close Fight. Why Is That A Surprise?
By: Sean Crose

Lots of talk about this past weekend’s Gennady Golovkin-Daniel Jacobs battle for middleweight supremacy. The fact that it was something of a high-level affair rather than a blowout seems to have impacted boxing fans and analysts in an odd way. Apparently, some feel Golovkin, who won by a unanimous decision after clearly having a tough time of it, was “exposed.” Others feel the man showed his age (he’s well over thirty), while others feel he simply lost. No doubt there are those who believe a combination of all those things. One thing is certain, people were not expecting things to work out like they did in the ring on Saturday.

Not to pat myself on the back, but I’m most distinctly NOT stunned things played out like they did. Before the bout, I discussed the possibility of Jacobs winning with other writers at Madison Square Garden. I explained that my mind told me there was no way Jacobs could win, but that my gut told me otherwise. And, in a sense, my gut may have been right, as I gave the Jacobs the nod after the final bell rang (though I clearly felt it could have gone either way). Obviously, the judges (who, let’s face it, are the ones who matter in these cases) disagreed with my initial assessment of the bout, but many others in the press box at the Garden gave the nod to Jacobs, as well.

There’s something irksome, however, about all the talk that Golovkin isn’t all he was cracked up to be. The guy had a tough fight. It happens. Not only is such nonsense insulting to Golovkin, it’s insulting to Jacobs, who put on a masterful performance. This was one of those rare fights where I would have been happy no matter what the decision was. In that sense, it reminded me of the first Floyd Mayweather – Marcos Maidana bout, where I afterwards felt pretty much any decision could be justified. Even more so than in the case of Mayweather-Maidana, though, this was a case of two of the best men in their division getting it on.

The truth is that Daniel Jacobs was under-rated right from the very beginning. More than anything else, there was a seriousness to the man in the lead up to this bout which should have given people pause. Here was a fighter who could hit like thunder and who, more importantly, was smart enough to know he had to come up with a sharp game plan for this one. The combination of ability and IQ should have convinced people that Jacobs would pose a threat to Golovkin, that he would come in with a cerebral mindset and apply the best strategy possible. Few focused on the potentiality of a very competitive fight, though. Just look at the pre-fight predictions for confirmation.

This was never going to be a walk in the park for Golovkin. The surprise shouldn’t be that a close battle was waged in the ring, but that people are taken aback that GGG didn’t make easier work of his opponent this time around. Jacobs was the real article, something some are belatedly starting to realize. For what it was worth, Jacobs himself was cool and easygoing in the post-fight press conference. Sure, he felt he should have won, or at least gotten a draw. He didn’t seem disappointed, though. That’s because he knew he was in the ring with an exceedingly serious opponent.

“This was my first test at 12 rounds,” Golovkin himself said during the press conference. “I needed a quality fight, not just the 12 rounds.”

Posted on 03/19/2017

Big Surprises At The Garden: Gonzalez Stunned, GGG Sneaks By With Decision Win
By: Sean Crose

The crowd at Madison Square Garden erupted Saturday evening when Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, the already legendary, 46-0, four time titlist, entered the ring to defend his WBC super flyweight strap against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, 44-4-1. Needless to say that very crowd was shocked when, late in the first round, Gonzalez was sent to the mat with a patented Rungvisai body blow. Cholcolatito survived the round, but the second proved to be a brutal affair at times, with both men banging away at each other. A serious looking cut stopped the action a bit in the third, but Gonzalez came back and went to war with Rungvisai in the middle of the ring.

By the fourth, Gonzalez started firing with deadly accuracy. At times it looked like he was using his opponent’s head as target practice. The fifth round saw the action seesaw, as Rungvisai became aggressive, but then Gonzalez started banging away with uppercuts and his brutal straight overhand right. Indeed, it looked for a moment like the fight might be stopped. Rungvisai kept fighting, though. It was an absolute war. A head butt stopped the action a bit in the sixth, but the two men soon returned to swinging away at each other. The end of the round saw Gonzalez grinding away to the body and head. Yet a head butt put things on pause again in the final seconds.

By the seventh and eight things went apace as the bout was now a war of attrition. Things were so brutal that the doctors took a look at Gonzalez in the beginning of the ninth. Rungvisai went on to largely dominate the round…or, rather, get the better of it, as Gonzalez, his face butchered, was still nailing his man with clean, hard, shots. Chocolatito may well have taken the tenth, and by the eleventh, both fighters will still swinging away. The final round saw things ending as they had been waged from the early going – bloody and in a flurry of fists.

In a shocking upset, the decision went to Rungvisai.

A few minutes later it was time for the main event. Suffice to say, Gennady Golovkin’s entrance was unblievably loud and thrilling, as the 36-0 WBA, WBC and IBF world middleweight champ made his way to the ring. His opponent, the 32-1 Daniel Jacobs, looked ready to do battle himself, however. In under forty minutes, the better man would be known.

Jacobs did good offensive work by keeping clear of the man called GGGs power in the first. Would the trend continue, though? Well, it continued through the second, and perhaps even the third. Then, in the fourth, Jacobs went down. The Brooklyn native got up and held his man off, but Golovkin was patient. He also now knew he could get to his man. And get to his man Golovkin did in the fifth, though with nothing as damaging as he had thrown in the fourth. Jacobs certainly had his moments, but it was GGGs round. Jacobs looked good in the sixth, though Golovkin’s shots had more pop.

Jacobs went on, in the opinion of this author, to win the seventh. The eighth was an extremely close affair, with Jacobs getting the combinations in, but Golovkin landing stronger. It was becoming a hard fight to call. Golovkin, however, clearly landed hard and often enough to take the ninth. The tenth was extremely close and could, frankly, have gone either way. The eleventh, also, was razor thin. Golovkin hit harder. Jacobs proved to be the more skilled and active. Pick your poison. For the final round I thought Jacobs squeaked through.

No matter. GGG won a unanimous – though far from wide – decision.