Danny Jacobs (33-2, 29 KOs) will be fighting next on April 28, and his management are offering WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders the shot at facing him. Jacobs will be fighting on HBO on April 28, so Saunders will have a chance to showcase his skills to the U.S boxing fans like he did last Saturday night in beating David Lemieux.
Jacobs will be fighting at home at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. This will be fight No.2 for Jacobs with promoter Eddie Hearn and HBO Boxing. They’re looking to get an upgrade in opponents from Jacobs’ last fight against Luis Arias, and they believe that Saunders would be the ideal opponent. Saunders impressed many U.S boxing fans with his win last Saturday night over the rugged David Lemieux. Saunders put on a superb display of classic boxing in blanking the normally dangerous Lemieux in beating him by a decisive 12 round unanimous decision in front of a large crowd at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, Canada.
“Danny really wants to fight Saunders,” Jacobs’ manager Keith Connolly said to ESPN.com. “We would like Billy Joe Saunders to come over and fight Danny. I think it’s the fight that makes the most sense for Danny, but I don’t know if Saunders will come over.”
Saunders isn’t the type to turn down a fight. If Jacobs’ promoter Eddie Hearn can give him a big enough offer for him to come over to defend his WBO title, he might just do it. Saunders is looking unbeatable right now with the way he’s boxing. A victory for Saunders over Jacobs would be one way of increasing his status in the U.S, and getting a bigger cut of the revenue when he does face the Saul Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin winner in 2018. Those 2 are fighting on May 5, and it’s assumed that Saunders will get the winner of the fight later in the year, possibly in September.
Saunders is being compared by some boxing fans as another Dmitry Pirog. Jacobs had hits in his fight with Pirog in 2010. Pirog had Jacobs tied in knots with his skillful boxing before knocking him out in the 5th round.
“Billy Joe Saunders looked great against Lemieux,” said Connolly. “Danny legitimately wants the fight, but I don’t know if Billy Joe Saunders or (promoter) Frank Warren will do it.”
Saunders might take the fight if enough money is offered to him. If Jacobs’ promoter Eddie Hearn is willing to give Saunders a huge offer for the fight, he could agree to it. Hearn will have to pay a lot to get Saunders to come to the U.S and fight Jacobs on his own turf in Brooklyn. It won’t be cheap getting Saunders to come over, but it’s doable for the right money.
Jacobs needs a good opponent for his April 28 fight. If they can’t get Saunders, then they’ll need to fight the best available contender willing to fight Jacobs. There probably won’t be too many volunteers to take the fight unfortunately. Jacobs is one of the best fighters in the middleweight division if not the best. He says it himself that he’s avoided by many of the guys in the 160-lb. division.