Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs set to unify three of the four sanctioning bodies!
This Cinco De Mayo weekend, we’ll be treated to a middleweight unification clash when WBA and WBC middleweight Champion Canelo Alvarez locks horns with IBF champion Daniel Jacobs.
For a fight of this magnitude, it’s been surprisingly and quite honestly poorly promoted. The combined record of these two men is a staggering 86-3-2, 64 KOs. Alvarez has fought a who’s who of guys that include future Hall Of Famers Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and Gennady Golovkin, just to name a few. Jacobs’ resume is solid, as he’s been in the ring with Peter Quillin, Sergio Mora, Gennady Golovkin, and Caleb Truax. Also, all happen to be former world champions.
Let’s look at the fighters.
Daniel Jacobs (35-2, 29KO)
Jacobs is a six foot tall orthodox fighter who possesses the ability to switch stances and fight as a southpaw. Not only is he versatile in that aspect, he has fight-ending power evident by his 29 knockouts in 37 career fights.
Blessed with exceptional athleticism and good hand speed, he often throws quick combinations that cause problems for his opponents. He also doesn’t get credit for being solid defensively. When in close quarters, his ability to slip and roll shots provide opportunities for him to land the right uppercut and hooks.
Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2, 35KO)
Alvarez is a top 5 P4P fighter with an excellent resume, as stated earlier. Standing at 5’8”, he’s significantly shorter than most middleweights. However, that hasn’t stopped him from winning big fights throughout his career. His skill set must be respected.
For a guy who’s considered a plodder with no foot speed or movement, he’s takes very little punishment. Due to his tremendous upper body movement, he’s able to avoid a lot of damage while dishing out his own. His counter punching ability leaves his opponents stunned literally and figuratively. What he lacks in overall lower body athleticism he makes for with his upper body movement and fast hands.
Body Attack
Alvarez is one of the best body punchers in the sport today! The way he attacks the body of his opponents leaves even the viewers feeling the pain. He’s very precise with downstairs shots, sitting down on his punches and making them count.
Lastly, in the first fight with Gennady Golovkin, he showed the ability to move around the ring, using decent movement that frustrated the former champion.
Prediction Time
Both men posses the skills to walk out of this fight the victor. Jacobs has pretty much all the physical advantages. He’s taller, has the longer reach and is significantly bigger than Alvarez. Alvarez has the clear edge in quality of competition and a better chin. He is a better counter-puncher and has a knack for fighting men naturally bigger than himself.
This fight will come down to who can make take advantage of the others mistakes. Jacobs must stay disciplined when on offense, as he tends to square himself up, especially when he senses his opponent is hurt.
Alvarez will have to make Jacobs fight small, meaning give up his height and reach advantage by luring him into a phone booth fight. Fighting at close quarters is not something he does very well. He must also set the tone early with his body attack, neutralizing Jacobs’ movement, causing him to become a stationary target.
Jacobs needs to fight from the outside while keeping the fight in the middle of the ring. He needs to keep Alvarez on the end of his punches. That all starts with his jab, which will lead into combinations.
With all that being said, I’m going with the upset and rolling with Daniel Jacobs to win a split decision to unify 3 of the 4 middleweight titles. Regardless, May 4 should provide fireworks between two outstanding fighters that will have fans talking about their fight long after it’s over.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
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