Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Danny Jacobs

T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV, May 4
TV: DAZN
By Peter Lim

Many fans and pundits have pegged Jacobs as past his prime based on his recent track record - two close struggles against obscure and unheralded fighters with difficult-to-pronounce names. But few realize that Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Maciej Sulecki are two talented and tough world-class fighters who have gone under the radar. Going 24 rounds with these two underratedEast European fighters has only sharpened Jacobs‘ skills and upped his game.

Still, Canelo is a notch above Derevyanchenko and Sulecki and leaps and bounds ahead in terms of championship-level experience. Arguably among the top-notch fighters in the world today, Canelo has faced a parade of fellow pound-for-pounders in his career, losing just once to a boxer named Mayweather. Love him or hate him, it’s undeniable that, at age 28, Canelo has already accomplished hall-of-fame credentials. Guess what? The guy might not have reached his peak yet.

Canelo and Jacobs engage in an evenly-contested chess match in the early rounds with both fighters trying to figure each other out. But Canelo begins putting his foot on the accelerometer in the fourth round and gradually gains control. Forcing Jacobs into retreat mode, Canelo mixes his attack to the head and body with equal ferocity. Jacobs manages to catch Canelo coming in with sharp one-twos but they ar too few and far between to stymie Canelo’s momentum.

Aware that he is behind on the scorecards, Jacobs ups his punch volume in the ninth and tenth rounds, finding a measure of success by beating Canelo to the draw with double jab-straight right combinations. But just as he seems to be getting back into the fight, he is dropped by an overhand right-left hook combo in the eleventh round.

Canelo refuses to allow Jacobs to shake it off by going after him with a reinvigorated intensity but Jacobs survives the round by covering, clinching and switching to southpaw. Canelo continues to apply controlled pressure in the final round and Jacobs seems content to just survive the fight rather than go for broke. The judges award the fight to Canelo in the 117-110 to 116-111 range.