Canelo Álvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs explained

Fight Name:Canelo Álvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs
Fight Date:4 May 2019
Location:T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Titles:WBA, WBC, IBF and The Ring middleweight titles
Fighter1: Saúl Álvarez
Nickname1:"Canelo"
Hometown1:Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Purse1:$35,000,000
Record1:51–1–2 (35 KO)
Height1:5 ft 8 in
Weight1:159+1/2 lb
Style1:Orthodox
Recognition1:WBA, WBC, TBRB and The Ring
Middleweight Champion
The Ring No. 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
2-division world champion
Fighter2: Daniel Jacobs
Nickname2:"Miracle Man"
Hometown2:Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Purse2:$10,000,000
Record2:35–2 (29 KO)
Height2:6 ft 0 in
Weight2:160 lb
Style2:Orthodox
Recognition2:IBF
Middleweight Champion
The Ring/TBRB
No. 2 Ranked Middleweight
Result:Álvarez defeated Jacobs by Unanimous Decision

Canelo Álvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs was a professional boxing match contested on 4 May 2019, for the WBA, WBC, IBF and The Ring Middleweight championship.[1]

Background

After moving up to Super middleweight in December 2018 to defeat Rocky Fielding, Canelo Álvarez announced in January 2019 he would return to the Middleweight division to face Daniel Jacobs in an attempt to unify his WBA, WBC and The Ring belts with Jacobs' IBF title. Álvarez would state in the announcement "I have no doubt that I will be victorious and that I'll be one step away from becoming the undisputed middleweight world champion."[2] [3] [4]

Jacobs expressed confidence based on his strong showing against Gennady Golovkin two years earlier, "People said GGG hit too hard and I took everything he had and there’s no way that Canelo hits that hard".[5]

The two boxers had to be pulled apart during the weigh-in.[6] Jacobs came in 3.7lb over a contracted rehydration limit of 170lbs the morning of the bout (a stipulation demanded by Álvarez’s team), costing him nearly $1,000,000 of his $10,000,000 guaranteed purse.

The fight

Canelo was the busier fighter in the early rounds, Jacobs using his rangy left jab to keep Álvarez at bay however the Mexican's elusive upper-body movement prevented him from scoring frequently. A switch to southpaw in round five and seven, gave Jacobs some success and a big left hook in ninth round momentarily stopped Canelo in his tracks. For the most part however Álvarez's more accurate puncher and superior defensive work kept him in control of the action. At the end of 12 rounds all three judges scored the bout for Álvarez, with two scores of 115–113 and one of 116–112 giving him a unanimous decision victory.[7] [8] [9] [10]

Aftermath

Speaking after the bout Álvarez said "It was just what we thought, we knew he was going to be a difficult fighter. It was just what we thought because of the style of fight that he brings, but we just did our job." Jacobs would admit that the task of making the middleweight limit was become difficult, saying "It is taking a toll on my body and it’s showing, I might have outgrown the middleweight division, and I might take my talents to super middleweight."

Despite now holding three of the four belts at middleweight, Álvarez opted not to face WBO titleholder Demetrius Andrade, to attempt to become the first Undisputed middleweight champion since Jermain Taylor in 2005. Instead he would move up two weight divisions to face WBO Light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Saul Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs . boxrec.com . BoxRec . 23 April 2024.
  2. Web site: . Canelo Alvarez, Daniel Jacobs set May 4 bout to unify titles . espn.co.uk . ESPN . 23 April 2024 . 17 January 2019.
  3. Web site: Emily Caron . Canelo Alvarez Announces Daniel Jacobs Middleweight Fight . si.com . Sports Illustrated . 23 April 2024 . 17 January 2019.
  4. Web site: Joseph Zucker . Canelo Alvarez to Fight Daniel Jacobs on May 4 in Middleweight Unification Bout . bleacherreport.com . Bleacher Report . 23 April 2024 . 17 January 2019.
  5. News: 'No way Canelo Alvarez hits harder than Gennady Golovkin', says Daniel Jacobs. Independent. 30 April 2019. 30 April 2019. en-GB.
  6. Web site: Peter Gilbert . Canelo vs Jacobs: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs pulled apart as tempers boil over in Vegas . skysports.com . Sky Sports . 23 April 2024 . 5 May 2019.
  7. Web site: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez beats Daniel Jacobs to unify middleweight division . bbc.co.uk . BBC . 23 April 2024 . 5 May 2019.
  8. Web site: Bryan Armen Graham . Canelo Álvarez defeats Daniel Jacobs to unify middleweight titles – as it happened . theguardian.com . The Guardian . 23 April 2024 . 5 May 2019.
  9. Web site: Bryan Armen Graham . Canelo Álvarez outpoints Daniel Jacobs to unify middleweight title belts . theguardian.com . The Guardian . 23 April 2024 . 5 May 2019.
  10. Web site: Canelo Alvarez wins unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs. SI.com. 4 May 2019 . en. 5 May 2019.
  11. Web site: BoxRec - event.