Tag Archives: may
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
More Headlines
Sugar Ray Leonard, the iconic fighter of the 70s through the 90s, suffered his first defeat at the gloved hands of another iconic fighter, Roberto Duran, up in Montreal, Canada back in 1980. It was a tough loss for Leonard, who had been tricked by Duran into engaging in a slugging contest. Leonard learned from his mistakes, however. After coming back to beat Duran less than six months later, the legendary American boxer went on to several more decades of success. As Leonard himself once claimed, he wouldn’t have become the fighter be became had he not lost to Duran all those years earlier up in Montreal. It’s was the kind of lesson Ledarius “Memphis” Miller has learned from, as well.
“It takes you to a different mindset,” the Floyd Mayweather protege tells me of his lone loss, a UD defeat to Rolando Chinea back in 2016. “You realize the world doesn’t revolve around you.” Mayweather may famously boast a perfect record, but he and his company, Mayweather Promotions, weren’t willing to let a promising fighter go by the wayside because of a single defeat. “They still supported me,” Miller says of his team. “You learn a lot from the people who pull back from you and the people who pull close to you.”
Photo Credit: Chris Farina/Mayweather Promotions
It’s easy for people to pull close to Miller at the moment. The lightweight has earned six impressive wins since that defeat, most of them via stoppage. And now he’s set to face the 10-7-2 Jose Marrufo this Friday evening in Las Vegas on the undercard of the Tony Harrison-Ishe Smith bout, which will be aired live on Bounce TV. “He’s a pretty tough veteran,” Miller, now 15-1, says of his opponent. “Camp’s been great. I probably had a good 8-9 weeks.” Miller claims he “had a chance to get some great sparring” in with the likes of Ashley Theophane.
“May 11th,” he says, “I’m just going to shine.”
A product of Memphis, Tennessee, Miller eventually decided to head west to Vegas in order to pursue his dream. “I had an uncle who was already out here,” he says, “and he was a fan of boxing.” Miller had a solid amateur pedigree, but knew he had to make a change. “I was just training and I wasn’t fighting,” he says of the amateur experience, where so much can depend on funding. “I ended up getting out to Vegas and the rest was history.” Yet, unlike many ambitious fighters, Miller ended up becoming a member of Team Mayweather.
“He’s been handling my career,” Miller says of Floyd Mayweather. “I see him frequently. Sometimes he stops by the gym.” Unlike some fighters on the rise, Miller has nothing bad to say of the promotional company behind him. “I’m happy with Mayweather Promotions,” he says. “They’re one of the best promotions out there…they’re always behind me, supporting me through good and bad.” To be sure, Miller is happy with his development in the pro ranks.
“I had a pretty decent amateur background,” says Miller. The truth, though, is that he was meant to fight in the professional realm. “The pros were meant for me,” he states, adding that people would tell him: “You got a pro style,” back when he was younger. “You’re really going to show your stuff when you get into a 10-12 round fight,” Miller also recalls people saying. Now that he’s back on track, however, the fighter isn’t about to forget the lessons of the past.
“I learned,” he says, “that you cannot underestimate anyone in this game.” It’s a lesson far too many fighters have neglected to learn over time. “It humbles you,” he says of his lone loss. “It angers you, it motivates you.” Yet, as many a fighter has learned, a pitfall can be a wonderful teacher. “You keep saying ‘I can’t let this happen again,’” Miller ads. Which perhaps is why Miller now aims to treat each bout like it’s for a championship. Many may not know who Marrufo is, but Miller is well aware of the fact that Marrufo undoubtedly would like to change all that. “Every fight,” Miller says, “is my most important fight.” Although the lightweight clearly has plans for the future his “main plan,” at the moment, “is May 11th” in Vegas.
Although he’s yet to start a family (“My main focus is to stay in the gym”) Miller intends to use his career to help those he will one day have to support. “I want to be able to take care of myself and my family,” he says of the future. If all continues to go as planned, it will be a future of some note. Having a supportive team can lead to big things, after all.
More Headlines
By: Ste Rowen
The clash of the KO kings of the cruiserweight division will land in Sochi on February 3rd.
IBF champion, Murat Gassiev will face WBA ‘Regular’ champion, Yunier Dorticos for a place in the cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series final. A final signed to take place in Saudi Arabia around May next year.
Photo Credit: World Boxing Super Series
It will be Murat’s first fight in Russia since he beat Denis Lebedev to win the IBF belt in December 2016 at Khodynka Ice Palace, Moscow. His one and only defence of the belt he won that night was his quarter final body-shot KO of Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in Newark two months ago.
Along with his fight of the year contender with Youri Kalenga in Paris, this will be Dorticos’ only second fight outside of the US. The Cuban impressively knocked out quarter final opponent, and Russian Dmitry Kudryashov in California to reach the semi-finals.
The two fighters have accumulated thirty-eight knockouts in forty-seven fights between them, as Gassiev’s record stands at 25-0-0 (18KOs) and Dorticos’ to date, 21-0-0 (20KOs).
After the announcement the Russian said,
‘The location for the semi-final was not important for me but the fact that it will be in Russia and the beautiful city of Sochi makes me very glad…Dorticos is a very good, dangerous fighter. It is going to be great test of my skills against an opponent like him.’
‘The KO Doctor’ Dorticos said,
‘No matter where I fight I will work hard to take my opponent out… I can’t wait to show Gassiev and the fans in Russia what ‘The KO Doctor’ is about.
The second semi-final between WBO champion, Oleksandr Usyk and WBC champion Mairis Briedis will take place in Briedis’ home town and quarter-final location, Riga, Latvia on 28th January.
Briedis, 23-0-0 (18KOs) eased to a unanimous points decision victory, in a particularly-difficult-watch quarter-final against Cuban, Mike Perez.
13-0-0 (11KOs) Usyk dominated Marco Huck in his quarter-final before stopping the German in the tenth round. It will be Usyk’s fifth fight on the road since he stopped Pedro Rodriguez in the seventh round at the Palace of Sports, Kiev back in December 2015.
