Via Jim Calfa: Sound more like a politician than a martial artist, Daniel Jacobs says he will fight for his chance to be the next two-division world champion after he beats John Ryder This Saturday night in a 168-lb sanctioned WBA, title removal on DAZN.
Jacobs weighed 166.9 lbs in Friday’s gain, and Ryder weighed in at 167 lbs.
10th WBA Jacobs (37-3, 30 KOs) and #4 Ryder (30-5, 17 KOs) meet on Saturday night, February 12, at Alexandra Palace, London, England.
You could argue that 35 years old Jacobs doesn’t deserve it fight in the WBA super-middleweight belt elimination match, as he is about to get a 15-month layoff and a huge controversial win over the laner Gabriel Rosado (26-14-1, 15 KOs) in his last game in November 2020, but that’s what the sanctioning body wanted.
Jacobs revealed that he chose Ryder as his opponent because he felt his belligerence would make for an interesting fight for boxing fans.
Hearn: Jacobs – Ryder in a war must be won
“This is an official removal and an absolute win for both of them on Saturday night,” said Boxing Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn of Ryder and Jacobs.
“I honestly don’t know where Jacobs might go. This is a fight he can’t lose,” Tony Bellew told DAZN.
To be fair, if 35-year-old Jacobs loses on Saturday night, his streak of world titles will be over unless he’s as old as Bernard Hopkins. Unfortunately, he was shot in his last game against Gabe Rosado, a year and a half ago.
Jacobs says his career will NOT be over if he loses to Ryder, because no one can dictate who he faces.
However, it will be difficult for Jacobs to get into the lucrative matches he is used to, beating Canelo Alvarez, Gennadiy Golovkin and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Furthermore, if DAZN cuts Jacobs’ loss, it will be interesting to see if one of the other networks is ready to televise the aging former middleweight champion during the main events.
Some fans believe that Jacobs chose Ryder because he was slow, weak, and old like himself rather than facing David Benavidez and losing.
With the World Boxing Association sanctioning the Jacobs vs. Ryder as a super-middleweight title remover, the winner will be a must-have for the 168-lb WBA champion Canelo Alvarez.
If Jacobs beats 33-year-old Ryder on Saturday night, he will be guaranteed a world title, which likely won’t arrive until 2023.
Canelo give Jacobs a rematch?
The only question is whether that showdown for Jacobs will be against WBA champion Canelo or another opponent, whether the Mexican will give up his strap.
Canelo beat Jacobs in 2019 and there wasn’t enough fan interest to find a second one between the two. As a result, Canelo is likely leaving his WBA belt to avoid wasting a precious match against Jacobs in a match the boxing world has no interest in watching.
Jacobs will then fight for the remaining spot with the top-ranked candidate or selected as the new 168-lb WBA champion. If Jacobs is up against a quality candidate like Benavidez for the vacant WBA title, his chances of winning will be slim.
If Jacob can’t beat laners like Rosado at this stage in his career, he has no chance of beating Benavidez.
“John Ryder summed it up very well when he said, loser is done, because these two are chasing world championships,” Eddie Hearn said of the Jacobs vs Ryder fight.
“If he loses to Ryder, then he can forget about it because it will be Ryder Bellew said.
“Okay, I win this match, which I’m sure we will, my next fight should be the chance that should be in the opportunity we’ve always wanted, and that’s a two-time champion and has chance to do that,” Jacobs told Matchroom Boxing.
