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Join us on discord: https://discord.gg/FUmR3An The middleweight championship is one of boxing’s most prestigious titles, perhaps second only to the heavyweight championship. More than anything inherent to the weight class or the title itself, the middleweight championship has prestige because of the great people who fought for it and held it. Compared to other divisions, middleweight has a relatively clear succession of lineal champions, a trend that continues today. Held by great fighters like Carlos Monzon, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins and Sergio Martinez, the title currently circles the waist of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Mexico’s superstar fighter and the biggest boxing draw south of heavyweight. Canelo won the title from Miguel Cotto, who won it from Sergio Martinez, who won it from Kelly Pavlik, who won it from Jermaine Taylor, and so on. The fighter makes the title significant, and Canelo Alvarez is no exception, bringing legitimacy to the title by surviving his greatest career test since Floyd Mayweather and successfully defending it from powerhouse Gennady “GGG” Golovkin in two very close fights. Anyone who saw those two fights knows that unfinished business lies between Alvarez and Golovkin, but in the meantime there are other contenders for the middleweight title, and one of the best is getting his shot. Danny “The Miracle Man” Jacobs was once a highly touted prospect before he was knocked out by Dmitry Pirog and subsequently sidelined his boxing career to fight off cancer. In recent years Jacobs has made his comeback with a string of good wins broken only by a close loss to Golovkin. The third point on the middleweight triangle, Jacobs is a considerable talent in his own right, and has his own ideas about who Golovkin should rematch in September. The good news is that all three of Canelo, Golovkin and Jacobs are signed to the same TV network DAZN, which in theory should make it easy for all three to fight each other and settle the score at middleweight. The better news is that we don’t have to wait long to see how Canelo and Jacobs square up; the fight is made and the fighters are prepared. Conventional wisdom and the ever-present Transitive Property of Boxing suggests that if Golovkin beat Jacobs and Canelo beat Golovkin, then surely Canelo should also beat Jacobs. Boxing is rarely that simple. Styles make fights; Jacobs and Golovkin may both possess considerable punching power but how they apply it is drastically different. The stakes are high for what may very well be the biggest fight of 2019 so far. More than the middleweight title is on the line. Whoever wins will gain a huge legacy boost and be set up for another lucrative fight with Golovkin later this year. Whoever loses will look on from the outside, bereft of world titles and knocked down a peg on the middleweight ladder. By the end of the night we may have greater clarity in the middleweight division… or we may have yet more unfinished business.  Saturday, May 4th - Broadcast starts 7:30pm ET, main event maybe 10:30 ET or later DAZN (requires subscription) Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs - middleweight (160 lb) world championship ; WBC, WBA, IBF title unification Vergil Ortiz vs Mauricio Herrera - jr. welterweight (140 lb) Lamont Roach Jr. vs Jonathan Oquendo - super featherweight (130 lb) Joseph Diaz Jr. vs Freddy Forseca - super featherweight (130 lb) Sadam Ali vs Anthony Young - welterweight (147 lb) John Ryder vs Bilal Akkawy - super middleweight (168 lb) Aram Avagyan vs Francisco Esparza - featherweight (126 lb) Alexis Espino vs Billy Wagner - super middleweight (168 lb)  Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KO) was marked for boxing stardom early, in no small part thanks to his striking ginger appearance that earned his nickname which translates to “Cinnamon.” Starting his pro career at age 15, Canelo soon became a feature of Mexican televised fight cards and remained undefeated until he stepped up to take on Floyd Mayweather in 2013 in what was a record-breaking PPV fight at the time. Alvarez lost every round of that fight, but that did not prevent the Mexican star from shining ever brighter in subsequent years, eventually supplanting former PPV standard-bearers Mayweather and Pacquiao. It’s hard to compare the green Alvarez who fought Floyd with the seasoned veteran who went 24 rounds with GGG. Canelo has developed with every fight and is still young enough to have half his career ahead of him, secured with a multi-million dollar contract with DAZN that will keep him paid for years to come.  Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs (35-2, 29 KO) was once Golden Boy’s next Golden Boy, a well-rounded boxer with power and skill in equal proportions. But a surprise knockout loss to the more or less unknown Dmitry Pirog upset his apple cart, and his subsequent cancer diagnosis appeared to spell the end for his career and any chance he might have at becoming an elite fighter. Jacobs survived his bout with cancer and eventually returned to the ring, reestablishing himself as a dangerous middleweight with some high profile knockout wins, including a devastating round 1 KO of then-undefeated Peter Quillin. A pivotal fight with Gennady Golovkin in 2017 resulted in a split decision loss for Jacobs, but Jacobs also gained a lot of fan respect for not only surviving against GGG who had been on an over twenty fight knockout streak, but also winning several rounds and coming within a round or two of winning a close decision. Jacobs has been undefeated since then, building a case for his next shot at the middleweight championship.  Common opponent Gennady Golovkin looms large over this match, but also serves as a useful measuring stick between Jacobs and Alvarez, who both fought Golovkin within the last two years in fights that were very competitive and with controversial cards. Jacobs fought GGG first and approached the matchup by focusing on good footwork and a solid jab to keep Golovkin off him. Alvarez took a more aggressive approach, using upper body movement to dodge Golovkin’s power shots while keeping him in range to land back and exchange punches. Both Canelo and Jacobs were able to handle the danger of Golovkin’s legendary offense and disrupt his game plan, but Canelo proved he could fight GGG’s fight and come out ahead, whereas Jacobs perhaps showed too much respect for the Kazakh fighter’s punching power. Canelo comes into this match the betting favorite, and it’s inarguable that Jacobs both has more to prove and more to lose in this matchup. Win or lose, Canelo is almost guaranteed a big rematch with September with either Jacobs (if he loses) or GGG (if he wins). Jacobs on the other hand already lost to Golovkin, and a bad loss to Canelo could easily put him solidly, and uncomfortably, in the third position at middleweight. Canelo also comes into the match with a number of psychological and intangible advantages, bringing years of experience under the bright spotlight at the top of the sport and 24 rounds of close fighting against someone who already beat Jacobs. The judges will likely tip Canelo’s way in the event of a close fight, as they did in both of his matches with Golovkin.  Take away all of this and just focus on the styles and the fight may be too close to call. Both fighters bring power and versatility to the match, but Jacobs is a more technically minded fighter than Golovkin, more comfortable fighting on the back foot and countering compared to Golovkin’s relentless aggression. Canelo thrives when he can be the aggressor or when he has an opponent coming after him, but has struggled against foes with good movement and a cautious approach. Jacobs was moderately successful at staying away from Golovkin’s constant pressure, and would likely be more successful using a similar style against Canelo, who doesn’t have the same killer instincts of GGG. Jacobs will also be harder for Canelo to hit than Golovkin was, and will probably be less willing to get into the kinds of exchanges that favored Canelo so much in his second Golovkin match. What decides this fight may well be the punching power both main event fighters pack. Jacobs boasts a 78% knockout ratio, with only six of his 35 wins going the full distance. What’s more, Jacobs arguably has one punch knockout power; it’s lights out if he catches you clean with a big counter. Canelo isn’t really known for his knockouts, but he’s still a powerful puncher who knows how to deliver fight-altering shots, especially to the body. If anyone could answer the question of who has more punching power it’s common opponent Gennady Golovkin, but I couldn’t find him commenting one way or the other. Looking at their fights with him, one thing I came away with is that Golovkin seemed to respect Canelo’s power a lot more, whereas he was outright chasing Jacobs. If it’s the case that GGG found Canelo to be a harder hitter than Jacobs, that could be bad news for the Miracle Man who has lost by knockout before.  Main Event Key Factors:
 My prediction: This fight will probably open with a typical feeling-out round with both fighters attempting to contest the middle of the ring while testing each other cautiously with their jabs. I think Canelo will be the first to take some real risks and try to take the fight to Jacobs, and the fight will soon settle into the dynamic of Canelo attempting to cut the ring off against a strafing Jacobs, who will focus on disrupting Canelo’s rhythm with his jab. This may give Jacobs the edge in early rounds, but as the fight enters the middle rounds he will find it harder to deter the aggression of Canelo and keep him respectful of Jacobs’ power. Alvarez will focus on combinations to the body whenever he has an opening on Jacobs, and this will eventually lead to some exchanges where Jacobs has to fight the champ off him. Going into the later rounds I expect Canelo to have the momentum as an increasingly desperate Jacobs does his best to stay away from him, counting on surviving the fight and taking the cards off rounds he won earlier in the fight. It is at this stage of the fight where I think Alvarez has a good shot at stopping the fight, especially if he can trap Jacobs in a corner and unload on him, but I don’t really expect a knockout here. Instead I expect a lot of close rounds that could be scored either way, depending on whether the judges liked Jacobs’ efficiency or Alvarez’ aggression more. That will be unfortunate for Jacobs, who may struggle to get the benefit of the doubt in debatable rounds on Vegas scorecards. In any case, I personally think Canelo’s aggression will win out and carry him to a decision over Jacobs by similar margins to the one Golovkin picked up in 2017. Saul Alvarez by decision.  The Undercard: There’s been some cancellations to the undercard, which once included David Lemieux in the co-feature, and what’s left is pretty typical fare for a “PPV-level” fight, even if this technically isn’t pay-per-view. The good news is that it looks like we’re getting more than just the typical three opening bouts in this broadcast, but for the most part we’re in for a lot of prospect showcases against opponents who are expected to be outmatched. The card opens with a 4-round match at super middleweight (168 lb) between Alexis Espino (1-0, 1 KO) and Billy Wagner (1-0, 0 KO). It’s hard to scout out fighters that have two fights between them, but from what I’ve heard Alexis Espino is the promotional favorite and is expected to win this one. At featherweight (126 lb), Francisco Esparza (9-0-1, 3 KO) takes on Russian fighter Aram Avagyan (8-0-1, 4 KO) in an eight-round fight. I don’t know much about either fighter beyond that they have very similar-looking records, but a fun fact about Esparza is that he’s trained by former world titleholder Fernando Vargas. At super middleweight (168 lb), John Ryder (27-4, 15 KO) was originally scheduled to be David Lemieux’s opponent in the co-feature, before Lemieux’s hand was injured. Ryder is still on the card and his opponent is instead Bilal Akkawy (20-0, 16 KO), a young Australian fighter that has worked with Canelo in training camps. Ryder is on a nice run of knockout wins and always shows up looking for a fight; he should prove to be a big step up for the undefeated Akkawy in what I’ve heard a few people say is the best fight on the undercard. It’s also the only title fight on the undercard, albeit the WBA interim title. Former super welterweight (154 lb) titleholder Sadam Ali (27-2, 14 KO) returned to the welterweight (147 lb) division last year and is coming off a competitive win against Mauricio Herrera who fights in the co-feature. He’s up against Anthony Young (20-2, 7 KO) another more or less unknown fighter that probably won’t give Ali much trouble. At super featherweight (130 lb), Joseph Diaz Jr. (28-1, 14 KO) looks to get his career back on track after his first career loss to Gary Russell Jr. in 2018. Losing to Russell is nothing to be ashamed of and there’s a fair chance Diaz could pick up a world title eventually, but it’ll have to wait as he fights a relatively unknown fighter named Freddy Forseca (26-2-1, 7 KO) in a match Diaz should be favored to win. Also at super featherweight (130 lb), Lamont Roach Jr. (18-0-1, 7 KO) is another prospect on the path to developing his fight game, this time against Jonathan Oquendo (30-5, 19 KO), a veteran Puerto Rican fighter who hasn’t lost since 2015. Roach is a slick fighter with good technique, but a draw in 2018 against Orlando Cruz has dampened some of his career momentum which he will be looking to get back on this big fight undercard. In the co-feature, jr. welterweight (140 lb) Vergil Ortiz (12-0, 12 KO) looks to extend his perfect knockout ratio against Mauricio Herrera (24-8, 7 KO). At just 21 years old, Ortiz is a solid prospect with tons of punching power and solid technique to back it up. Herrera’s a better fighter than his record suggests, and many of his “losses” are very controversial and almost always competitive. Many fans thought Herrera should have gotten the decision over Danny Garcia, and in a fight that I saw live I thought Herrera got robbed against Jose Benavidez Jr. Herrera is a crafty veteran who has never been stopped, so he should be a good test for Ortiz and provide some intrigue ahead of the main event. The Ninth Layer fucked around with this message at 20:17 on May 4, 2019 |
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May 4, 2019 20:00
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Betting odds: Canelo to win: -450 (bet $450 to win $100) Jacobs to win: +360 (bet $100 to win $360) Jacobs / Alvarez goes distance -200 Fight won’t go distance +170 Jacobs wins inside distance +800 Not Jacobs inside distance -1475 Jacobs wins by 12 round decision +595 Not Jacobs by 12 round decision -1035 Alvarez wins inside distance +219 Not Alvarez inside distance -279 Alvarez wins by 12 round decision -109 Not Alvarez by 12 round decision -121 Jacobs / Alvarez draw +2000 Fight not a draw -3000 Source: https://www.mmamania.com/2019/5/3/18526292/canelo-vs-jacobs-odds-prop-bets I'm really surprised at how wide the odds are, must be the Vegas factor for Canelo. Seems like there could be some fun bets to make on this one.
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May 4, 2019 20:10
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If you want to watch some of those Golovkin matches ahead of this match, HBO has helpfully put some of them on youtube: Jacobs vs Golovkin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhGOqnJpbXw Canelo vs Golovkin I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOE_bCjV4UM Canelo vs Golovkin II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdSCQ_aMOuM
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May 4, 2019 20:16
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Also feel free to join SA's boxing discord server to talk about the fight(s): DKSAB discord server: https://discord.gg/FUmR3An
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May 4, 2019 20:20
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That's a good rear end OP, OP.
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May 4, 2019 20:33
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I'm going to way off here and predict that Jacobs will controversially win a disputed decision because nothing in boxing makes any sense and trying to read the madness is futile, the only predictable thing is that there will be new disappointment around every corner.
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May 4, 2019 20:42
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MMM Whatchya Say posted:I'm going to way off here and predict that Jacobs will controversially win a disputed decision because nothing in boxing makes any sense and trying to read the madness is futile, the only predictable thing is that there will be new disappointment around every corner. It's ok. He's doing it for the culture man
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May 4, 2019 22:06
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Avid Daniel Jacobs fans may recall that in his fight against Golovkin he skipped the morning weigh in (opting not to fight for the IBF belt) and was rumoured to enter the ring at over 180lbs Since then, the IBF has changed their rules for unification fights, doing away with the 10 pound rehydration clause, but for this fight specifically, Alvarez and co negotiated a rehydration clause where Jacobs has to pay a fine based on how heavy he is. It's been reported that it at least at one point it was $250 000 for every pound overweight he was. Jacobs himself said the number was lower, closer to $100 000 per pound. Jacobs weighed 173.6 pounds this morning, meaning he's forfeiting $360 000 at the very least. He will continue to gain weight and could once again enter the ring near 180 pounds. Canelo weighed in at 169 Jacobs is the only Canelo opponent I can think of who will actually fight with a significant size advantage, for whatever that's worth.
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May 4, 2019 22:16
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Per big Dan the fine is about a million. https://twitter.com/danrafaelespn/status/1124766976260198400?s=19 In context Canelo is guaranteed 35 million and even if there is no ppv upside i imagine maybe there are incentives for maybe the live gate. Jacobs purse was 10 million now less the fine.
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May 5, 2019 00:09
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canelo did the same thing against matthew hatton iirc so it's fair game
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May 5, 2019 00:21
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Sadam Ali gets stopped by Anthony Young and his career is pretty much dunzo.
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May 5, 2019 01:41
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Signed up for dazn. Can't login lmao, back to 
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May 5, 2019 02:14
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Get IN
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May 5, 2019 03:01
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JoJo having a real nice fight
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May 5, 2019 03:36
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Want to see him lay out gervonta Davis 
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May 5, 2019 03:39
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Jojo looked loving awesome
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May 5, 2019 03:40
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Good lord Ortiz smashed him
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May 5, 2019 04:04
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Jesus
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May 5, 2019 04:05
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So impressive from Ortiz. He's ready a former title challenger level (like Jose Benavidez, Yordenis Ugas) already
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May 5, 2019 04:06
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main event next?
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May 5, 2019 04:09
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The SituAsian posted:So impressive from Ortiz. He's ready a former title challenger level (like Jose Benavidez, Yordenis Ugas) already I mean if he could do that to Ugas that would be pretty insane.
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May 5, 2019 04:10
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thehappyprince posted:main event next? I believe so, yeah.
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May 5, 2019 04:13
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love to wait 40 minutes between fights and now the national anthem gently caress offfff thehappyprince fucked around with this message at 04:42 on May 5, 2019 |
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May 5, 2019 04:36
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 what the gently caress was that note
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May 5, 2019 04:44
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ban the american national anthem
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May 5, 2019 04:45
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thehappyprince posted:ban the american national anthem Ban all the anthems but Canada and Russia
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May 5, 2019 04:46
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i thought my stream was loving up but apparently this is just how dazn is
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May 5, 2019 04:50
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blue footed boobie posted:Ban all the anthems but Argentina
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May 5, 2019 04:57
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Jacobs looking a little uncoordinated. imo
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May 5, 2019 05:01
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blue footed boobie posted:Ban all the anthems but South Africa
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May 5, 2019 05:01
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close rounds so you know canelo is up officially
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May 5, 2019 05:06
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Canelo is doing really well. He legit seems to have gotten lots better imo Rooting for Jacobs but 
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May 5, 2019 05:14
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Man Canelo is something
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May 5, 2019 05:16
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Canelo definitely a 'great' now, he didn't use to be
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May 5, 2019 05:18
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Canelo is outclassing Danny.
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May 5, 2019 05:22
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vaguely trying to score it and got canelo up by 4 or 5 after 6
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May 5, 2019 05:22
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Jacobs really needs to go to war. He's doing well on the inside or in trades, he's losing bad outside
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May 5, 2019 05:30
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have no idea why Jacobs corner told him to back off. also dazn announcers giving canelo the sloppiest blowjob is really loving annoying
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May 5, 2019 05:41
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KidDynamite posted:dazn announcers giving canelo the sloppiest blowjob is really loving annoying It is distractingly blatant
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May 5, 2019 05:45
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| # ? May 6, 2024 20:43 |
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canelo won slightly imo but the commentating would have you think it was 11 rounds to 1.
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May 5, 2019 05:46
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