By Ian S Palmer
Former WBA Middleweight Champion Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn, New York will be squaring off against unbeaten Luis Arias of Milwaukee, Wisconsin this Saturday, November 11th at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on HBO while fans in the UK can catch the action live on Sky Sports. Jacobs last fought in March when he lost a close unanimous decision to Gennady Golovkin while Arias stopped Arif Magomedov in the fifth round in his last bout in April.
The 30-year-old Jacobs, who overcame bone cancer, climbs into the ring with an impressive record of 32-2 along with 29 Kos. He defended his title four times before running into Golovkin. Jacobs stopped Caleb Truax in the 12th and final round in his first title defence in April of 2015 and then stopped Sergio Mora in the second round later in 2015 before stopping Mora for the second time in September of 2016. In between, he stopped Peter Quillin in the first round. Jacobs won the vacant WBA title back in August of 2014 by stopping Jarrod Fletcher in the fifth round.
Jacobs’ other defeat came at the hands of Dmitry Pirog in July of 2010 when he was stopped in the fifth round. Jacobs is known for his boxing skills, speed and power, but his chin could 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. He’s got 121 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2007 and has a very impressive knockout ratio of 85 per cent. However, Jacobs has arguably faced just a few top-ranked opponents so far in his career and they were Quillin and Golovkin.
Arias is 27 years old and has boxed 90 rounds since turning pro in 2012. He enjoyed a fine amateur career with a record of 140-25 and was a national champion in the middleweight division. Arias gives up two inches in height as he’d 5-foot-11, but has an unlisted reach. He’s not known as a power puncher as he has a current knockout ratio of 47 per cent. He does have a perfect record though as he’ll climb into the ring with a mark of 18-0 along with 9 Kos. He possesses good boxing skills as well as a solid chin.
Arias will be taking a huge step up in class against Jacobs on Saturday though as he hasn’t faced any top opposition as of yet. His biggest wins so far have been against the likes of Scott Sigmon, Jorge Silva, Tony Brinson and Dionisio Miranda. His biggest victory was a fourth-round TKO over Darryl Cunningham in August of 2016. Arias is confident of doing well against Jacobs, and a win would vault him into a serious top-10 contender. That’s going to be a lot easier said than done though.
Prediction…
Jacobs is fine all-round boxer with tremendous power. He may have a questionable chin, but is facing a relatively weak puncher in Arias. Jacobs’ experience will also be a factor here and he should win this fight rather comfortably.
