By Ian S Palmer
WBA World Middleweight Champion Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn, New York will be defending his title against Sergio Mora of Los Angeles, California this Saturday, August 1st at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. This fight is on the undercard of the Danny Garcia vs Paul Malignaggi super lightweight title fight and the 12-round bout is another episode in the Premier Boxing Champions Series (PBC). Fans in the U.S. can catch it live on ESPN 2.
The 28-year-old Jacobs enters the ring with an impressive record of 29-1 along with 26 Kos. His last bout came in April when he stopped Caleb Truax in the 12th and final round in his first title defence. Jacobs became the WBA titleholder back in August of last year when he stopped Jarrod Fletcher in the fifth round. Jacobs’ lone defeat came at the hands of Dmitry Pirog in July of 2010 when he was stopped in the fifth round.
The 34-year-old Mora has a decent mark of 28-3-2 with 9 Kos to his name. His last bout came in February when he took a split decision win over Abraham Han. Mora is on a pretty good hot streak at the moment as he’s won five of his past six contests. His lone loss in that period was against Brian Vera, who beat him by a majority decision in August of 2012. It was Mora’s second loss to Vera. Mora has also been beaten by Vernon Forrest by unanimous decision in 2008. His draws came against Elvin Ayala in 2007 and Shane Mosley in 2010. In addition, Mora also beat Forrest by majority decision in their first meeting three months earlier.
Mora turned pro in 2000 and has fought 232 rounds since then. He stands 6-feet-tall and has a 73-inch reach. There’s no doubt Mora lacks in the power department as his current knockout ratio stands at just 27 per cent. The champion Jacobs is 6-foot-1 and also has a 73-inch reach. He’s got 99 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2007 and has better-than-average power with a knockout percentage of 87. However, Jacobs hasn’t really faced any Grade A opponents as of yet.
Mora is an underrated boxer who’s never been stopped and has been beaten by just two men. He’s a hard worker with a solid chin, but his downfall has been lack of power. He’s getting a little long in the tooth now, but has the edge in experience over the champion. Jacobs possesses fine speed and power and has youth on his side. His chin may be questioned by some since he was stopped by Pirog in his only loss.
Prediction
Jacobs is well known for being a cancer survivor and he’s stopped nine opponents in a row. Mora is famous for winning the old “Contender” TV show crown years ago. Jacobs has speed and power while Mora has work ethic and a good chin. There’s a good chance this fight goes the distance if Mora’s chin hasn’t weakened. Jacobs is fighting at home and everything points to the champion retaining the title by decision or a possible late stoppage.
