By Ian S Palmer
Former IBF and WBA Middleweight Champion Daniel Jacobs of Brownsville, New York will be taking on former WBC Middleweight boss Julio Cesar Chavez of Mexico in a 12-round super middleweight bout in Phoenix, Arizona this Friday, December 20th. The bout can be seen live in North America on DAZN while fans in the UK can catch it on the Sky Sports Main Event and Action channels. Jacobs last fought in may when he dropped a close unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez. Chavez last saw action in August when he stopped Evert Bravo in 86 seconds in his first fight since May, 2017.
The 32-year-old Jacobs overcame bone cancer a few years ago and climbs into the ring at 35-3 along with 29 Kos. He defended his WBA title four times before running into Gennady Golovkin and losing it by unanimous in March of 2017. Jacobs stopped Caleb Truax in the 12th round in his first title defence in April, 2015 then stopped Sergio Mora in the second round later later that year before stopping Mora for the second time in September, 2016. In between, he stopped Peter Quillin in the first round. Jacobs had won the vacant WBA Title in August, 2014 by stopping Jarrod Fletcher in the fifth round.
His first defeat came at the hands of Dmitry Pirog in July of 2010 when he was stopped in the fifth round during a shot at the vacant WBO Middleweight Crown. Jacobs is known for his boxing skills, speed and power, but his chin may be somewhat questionable after being stopped by Pirog and dropped by Golovkin. Jacobs stands 6-feet-1-inch tall and has a reach of 73 inches and has 169 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2007.
Jacobs has an impressive knockout ratio of 76.3 per cent but has gone the distance in his last five fights and with two of them being losses. His last stoppage victory came in September of 2016 when he halted Sergio Mora in the seventh round. Jacobs has faced several top-ranked opponents so far in his career such as Alvarez, Derevyanchenko, Maciej Sulecki, Pirog, Quillin, Golovkin, Mora and Truax. He needs to beat Chavez if he hopes to land a few more big-money bouts and/or rematches with Golovkin and Alvarez.
The 33-year-old Cesar Chavez Jr. returned to the ring in August after a 26-month layoff and blasted Evert Bravo out in less than 90 seconds. His previous bout was a unanimous decision defeat to Canelo Alvarez in a fight he was dominated in. Chavez is known to gain weight and focus more on his out-of-ring activities and lifestyle than he does on training and he fought Bravo at the 175 lbs light heavyweight limit. It’s no secret Chavez isn’t as good as he was a few years ago and has had problems outside of the ring.
Chavez was banned nine months and fined $900,000 in 2013 for testing positive for an illegal substance but still has a fine record of 51-3-1 with 33 Kos. His other two losses were a unanimous decision to former WBC Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez in September, 2012 and a ninth-round stoppage at the hands of Andrzej Fonfara in April, 2015. However, Chavez had Martinez down and in deep trouble in the last round in their title fight before the bell arguably saved Martinez. Against Fonfara though, Chavez suffered a bit of a beating.
Size-wise, Chavez is a decent-sized guy as he stands 6-feet tall with a 73-inch reach so has just a half-inch height edge on Jacobs with the same reach. Chavez has decent power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 59 per cent. He’s a powerful boxer with a pretty solid chin and is hard to keep at bay when he decides to let his hands go. Most of his knockouts come on an accumulation of blows rather than just once punch and he’s relentless when at his best.
Chavez likes to apply pressure to the body and head and keep moving forward until he eventually breaks his opponent down. He’s boxed 305 rounds since his pro debut in 2003 so has plenty of experience with his biggest wins so far being over Brian Vera (twice), Andy Lee, Marco Antonio Rubio, Peter Manfredo Jr. and John Duddy. He also fought to a six-round draw with Carlos Molina in 2005.
Prediction…
Chavez has lost some speed and his dedication to the sport has been questioned. He looked fine in his comeback against Bravo a few months ago but he was a hand-picked opponent an a confidence-builder. Jacobs is a fine all-round boxer with power but may own a somewhat questionable chin. If this ends up being a boxing match then Jacobs has the edge but if it turns into a slugfest it could be interesting. Nobody really knows how serious Chavez is about his career but if he’s not fully prepared and in top shape he won’t beat Jacobs. In fact, even if he is focused on the task at hand I believe Jacobs will do enough to earn the W.
