Daniel ‘The Miracle Man’ Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) will be returning to the ring in 2 to 3 months to fight in late May or early June on DAZN. Jacobs needs one more warmup fight at super middleweight before he fights for a world title in that weight class.
If the 33-year-old Jacobs can’t get a crack at one of the champions in the division, then he’ll try and fight a top middleweight at a catchweight. That would in the 168lb weight class because Danny can longer get down to 160 without draining himself.
Jacobs coming off a win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
In Jacobs’ last fight, he stopped former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in five rounds last December. That was Jacobs’ debut in the 168lb division, but Chavez Jr. was so poor that Danny didn’t get any real experience in that weight class.
That’s what happens when your opponent is picked based solely on his popularity and ability to draw fans rather than on talent. Chavez Jr’s career hasn’t been the same since his loss to Sergio Martinez in 2012.
For Jacobs’ fight in May or June, he needs a real opponent that can get him ready to challenge the super middleweight champions. Jacobs’ management can’t make the mistake of choosing just based on how well the fight will do.
Jacobs wants to acclimate himself to 168
“I will be announcing my next fight date over the next couple of weeks,” Jacobs said to ESPN.com. “I’m looking for one more fight to acclimate myself to the 168-pound division this spring.
“Then, in the fall, I’m looking to target one of the champions in the division. If nothing is available I’m open to the idea of a big fight at a catchweight with one of the big middleweight names.”
There are a lot of good tune-up level fighters at 168 that Jacobs can fight, but it depends on whether he and his management want to take a risk. If they choose to get another easy opponent in the same mold as Chavez Jr., then he’s not going to be ready when he fights for a world title.
Good tune-up options for Jacobs
- Caleb Truax
- Ali Akhmedov
- Erik Bazinyan
- Fedor Chudinov
- Juergen Braehmer
- Aidos Yerbossynuly
- David Lemieux
Given that those fighters are all contenders at super middleweight, their management probably won’t want to risk putting them in with Jacobs. Why would they want to take a fight with a recently beaten fighter like Jacobs when no world title is on the line.
Jacobs lost to Canelo Alvarez by a 12 round decision last May in Las Vegas. Danny would have had a chance of winning the fight if he’d fought with more aggression in the first six rounds. Jacobs let Canelo jump out to a big early lead, and he was unable to catch up to him in the second half of the fight.