Middleweight contender Daniel Jacobs will serve as a guest analyst for the second straight week as SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING presents three world-class prizefights on Saturday, April 26, live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from StubHub Center in Los Angeles.
Jacobs will step in for critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing analyst Paulie Malignaggi, who is recovering from a tough knockout loss to IBF Welterweight World Champion Shawn Porter last week. After the fight, Malignaggi was taken to a nearby hospital in Washington D.C. He has since been released and is recovering comfortably at his home, but is opting to err on the side of caution for this week’s event in Los Angeles.
“I am feeling very good at this stage, but anytime you have any level of concussion, your best bet is to fully recover before doing virtually any activity,” said Malignaggi. “There will be plenty of action on Saturday and the audience will be in good hands with Danny on the stick. But make no mistake: I will not miss next week’s event in Las Vegas. I have been looking forward to that fight card for some time. I’ll be ready.”
The main event for Saturday’s tripleheader will pit interim WBA Welterweight World Champion Keith “One Time” Thurman against former world champion Julio “The Kidd” Diaz. In the co-features, Lucas Matthysse returns from an eight-month layoff to face heavy-handed John Molina Jr., in a 10-round junior welterweight matchup and undefeated WBC Lightweight World Champion Omar Figueroa Jr., defends his title against Jerry Belmontes. The telecast will air live, immediately following the premiere of Episode 2 of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana, the most recent installment of the Emmy® Award-nominated SHOWTIME Sports® series that chronicles the dramatic lives of the world’s best prizefighters.
“I had a great time filling in for Paulie last week,” said Jacobs, who will join host Brian Kenny, Mauro Ranallo, Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein and award-winning reporter Jim Gray on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. “It was a tremendous honor to be part of that event and to show the fans a different side of myself. I received terrific feedback, not only from SHOWTIME, but from the fans, my friends and family. Obviously, Paulie’s welfare is my main concern but I know he will be back behind the mic soon. In the meantime, I look forward to doing another great job at ringside.”
The 27-year-old Jacobs (27-1, 24 KOs), of Brooklyn, N.Y., is coming off a first-round TKO of Milton Nunez on March 15 on the SHOWTIME EXTREME® undercard of the Danny Garcia-Mauricio Herrera event in Puerto Rico. The victory was Jacob’s fifth straight win in as many fights since returning to the ring after a courageous 19-month battle against cancer and partial paralysis.
The 6-foot-1 Jacobs, who is the fifth ranked middleweight contender by the IBF and sixth by the WBC, WBA and WBO, has won seven in a row by knockout.
Thurman vs. Diaz, a 12-round fight for Thurman’s Interim WBA Welterweight World Championship on Saturday, April 26, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. It will take place at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., and will air as the main event of the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). In the co-feature, Argentine knockout artist Lucas Matthysse faces hard-hitting John Molina in a 10-round junior welterweight bout that is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Goossen Tutor Promotions. In the opening bout of the telecast, Omar Figueroa Jr. defends his WBC Lightweight title against fellow Texan Jerry Belmontes. Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME®.
