John Ryder Wins Split Decision Over Daniel Jacobs in the UK!
In what can’t really be called a great surprise, super middleweight Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (37-4, 30 KO’s), ranked #3 (WBC), #7 (IBF), #9 (WBA) and #9 (WBO), lost his latest contest versus John “The Gorilla” Ryder (31-5, 17 KO’s). Jacobs suffered the defeat by way of split decision.
There is no question that the star of Jacobs has both dimmed and fell quite a bit. It’s now been three years and change since he held the IBF middleweight strap. Seven months after acquiring the title, he lost it to boxing poster boy and undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Since that loss to the redhead, Jacobs submitted two exceedingly tepid performances against the notoriously unfocused Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and the extraordinarily weathered Gabe Rosado. Undoubtedly these bland as unseasoned oatmeal outings led to the Miracle Man traveling across the pond to Ryder in the first place. One would think with his more marketable name and grander success in the sport, it’d be the Gorilla who would have been imported to duel in Jacobs’ backyard.
Heading into the fight, Ryder was not exactly setting the world on fire either. He was two successful bouts away from his November 23, 2019 UD loss to Callum Smith. The Gorilla bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Mike Guy and fifth round stoppage of Jozef Jurko. While this competition was far from the stiffest, Ryder, who is ranked #11 (WBO) and #14 (WBC) and #4 (WBA), proved he had the stuff to beat Jacobs.
SWITCHING GEARS
The first period was more or less a feel-out stalemate round, although you could say Jacobs edged it due to leading the action. Not much changed in the second outside of the Miracle Man landing a handful of hard left hands that pleased the crowd. By the third round, Jacobs was in firm control. He calmly used his feet to dictate the range and circled around the ring picking his shots. Yet, there was a frustrating amount of clinching that both fighters were guilty of.
While he ate the shots well, over the course of the fifth and sixth rounds, the Miracle Man became very accurate with his right hand. More and more, not only was he connecting, he was violently snapping Ryder’s head back. The seventh ended with vigorous back and forth action. Then, in the blink of an eye, Jacobs found himself in serious duress in the eighth. After being caught with a left hook, Jacobs was pelted and battered to the ropes
Throughout the ninth, Ryder retained control of the fight. When on the inside, he landed short, hard hooks and thumping straight shots when at range. Not only was the Gorilla landing these blows, the Miracle Man appeared to be slowing notably. Even worse, Jacobs’s shots were losing steam in a hurry.
UPSET ALERT!
The action, output and overall energy of the fight dipped greatly in the eleventh. The twelfth and final round closely mirrored the previous one. Both fighters threw punches with regularity but a good measure of the intensity was gone. Not to mention most of the punches missed and concluded in a clinch. Nothing really of note landed in the whole period.
When the bout went to the cards, John Ryder won the upset victory by unanimous decision to the tune of (115-113) Jacobs, (115-113 twice) Ryder. This was a chilling loss for Jacobs and one that has to inspire thoughts of retirement. Let’s see what’s next for John Ryder after this career-best win!
Reading Time: 3 minutes
By: Bakari Simpson
Be the first to comment