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 Friday, September 9th at the Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania. This is a rematch of their bout last August in which Mora broke his ankle after being dropped in the second round. The contest is another episode in the Premier Boxing Champions Series (PBC) and can be seen in North America on the Spike network. Jacobs last fought in December and stopped Peter Quillin in the first round. This will be Mora’s first time back in the ring since suffering his ankle injury.
The 29-year-old Jacobs enters the ring with an impressive record of 31-1 along with 28 Kos. He has defended his title three times. He stopped Caleb Truax in the 12th and final round in his first title defence in April of last year and then beat Mora and Quillin. Jacobs became the WBA titleholder back in August of 2015 when he stopped Jarrod Fletcher in the fifth round. His lone 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 speed and power, but his chin could be somewhat questionable.
The 35-year-old Mora has a decent mark of 28-4-2, but with just nine Kos to his name. His last bout before meeting Jacobs a year ago was a 12-round split decision win over Abraham Han in February of 2015. Mora was on a decent hot streak until running into Jacobs as he had 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 234 rounds since then. He stands 6-feet-tall and has a 73-inch reach. There’s no doubt he lacks in the power department as his current knockout ratio stands at just 26 per cent. The champion Jacobs is 6-foot-1 and also has a 73-inch reach. He’s got 102 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2007 and has better-than-average power with a knockout ratio of 88 per cent. However, Jacobs has faced just one Grade A opponent so far in his career and that was Quillin. But he was very impressive in stopping the former world champion.
Mora is an underrated boxer who’s loss to Jacobs was the first time he’s ever been stopped. 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 and will need to get past Mora if he hopes at getting some big-name and big-money fights in the future.
Prediction…
Jacobs is well known for being a cancer survivor and he’s stopped 10 opponents in a row. Mora is famous for winning the old “Contender” TV show crown years ago. Jacobs’s speed and power will likely overcome Mora’s work ethic, defensive skills and solid chin, but there’s still a chance this fight goes the distance. Everything points to Jacobs retaining his title here by stoppage or unanimous decision.
