Canelo Alvarez 51-1-2 (35 KO) defeated Danny Jacobs 35-3 (29 KO) by UD on the scorecards-115-113 X2, 116-112.
Standing-8 had the fight a draw.
Official cards-
Photo Credits- Golden Boy Promotions-
All photos (Hogan) and video credits-Golden Boy Promotions
Final Press Conference photos and videos for Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2 35 KO) and Danny Jacobs (35-2 29 KO) ahead of their Middleweight World Championship bout this Saturday.
All photo and video credits- Golden Boy Promotions
Bernard Hopkins Video link here-
Danny Jacobs- Video link here
Full Press Conference- Link Here
Oscar De La Hoya- Link Here
Face Off- Link Here
Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2 35 KO) and Danny Jacobs (35-2 29 KO) arrived in Las Vegas to kick off fight week ahead of their Middleweight World Championship bout this Saturday.
All photo and video credits- Golden Boy Promotions
Video Links-
Canelo Arrival/Interview– Click Here
Jacobs Arrival/Interview– Click Here
Jacobs # 2– Here
Oscar De La Hoya- Click Here
Eddie Hearn– Click Here
Photo Credit- Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing USA
Click Here- Daniel ‘Miracle Man’ Jacobs New York Media Workout Quotes, Photos, And Videos
Photo Credit- Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
Story at GoldenBoyPromotions.com, link below-
GGG Sleeping Well, Not Having Nightmares
Inside the wrapper of a recently purchased chocolate bar, Vanes Martirosyan (36-3-1 21 KO) found a golden ticket. The ticket represents the opportunity of a lifetime for Martirosyan as this Saturday night he faces Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1 33 KO). Filling in on less than a month’s notice for the recently suspended Canelo Alvarez, Martirosyan is considered to be the sacrificial lamb that ensures the coveted Cinco De Mayo date was filled. Most do not believe that the Armenian born California-based Martirosyan has a chance and for good reason.
For starters, although Martirosyan has decent pop, he’s not a huge puncher and you had better be able to keep Golovkin honest or at least give him something to think about. Secondly, he is trained by Edmond Tarverdyan of Rhonda Rousey/MMA fame and when Rousey fought Holly Holm, a highly skilled former boxing champion, it was Holm’s boxing that set the tone for the KO of Rousey. Tarverdyan’s tutelage of Rousey in the sweet science for the Holm fight was not good. The same for Rousey’s fight with Amanda Nunes. It was said that Tarverdyan had trained with her to box more in the Nunes fight but Rousey was stopped in the first and had no answer for Nunes’ boxing.
Lastly, it will be a few weeks short of two years since Martirosyan last fought. He is a professional and a gym rat so no doubt he will be ready to go but we should expect a certain amount of ring rust. In the past, Martirosyan has shown fatigue during the second half of fights which may not bode well for him here.
Martirosyan has never been stopped and has only been down a few times during fights, coming back to win both. Kassim Ouma was one of the Martirosyan opponents who dropped him, the same Ouma who gave Golovkin pockets of difficulty before he was stopped.
If there is a silver lining here it is that Martirosyan can box. He is one of the most complete boxers in the game and very underrated , layoff notwithstanding. He had competitive distance fights with Erislandy Lara one loss, one draw, Jermell Charlo UD loss which some thought was much closer, and a Demetrius Andrade SD loss. The kid can flat-out box and gives his opponents trouble at random times throughout the fight.
Again, it is his lack of firepower that will be the difference. Martirosyan has a warrior’s mentality and will engage but unless he catches Golovkin with something significant, he will be in deep. Golovkin is adept at cutting off the ring and uses his jab well which should at least negate some of the boxing that the challenger will utilize. Once Golovkin figures out the timing of the slick Martirosyan, he will begin to land his power to the body and head and begin to systematically break down the underdog.
One thing’s for sure, Saturday nights venue, The StubHub Center never disappoints. That said, it should be good while it lasts. Golovkin by 7th Round TKO.
Gender Equality-This First Lady Is P4P Royalty, Gender Be Damned
Undefeated Unified Welterweight Champion Cecilia Braekhus (32-0 9 KO) has made twenty-two consecutive title defenses since capturing her first title in 2009. Kind of Mayweather like in her approach, Braekhus uses her jab extremely well to set up straight rights and her movement is some of the best I’ve seen. Her opponent this Saturday night is Providence Rhode Island’s Kali Reis (13-6-1 4 KO). Reis, a former campion enters having won six of seven, her only loss to highly touted champion Christina Hammer by UD.
Braekhus, the Columbian born Norwegian has longed for a defining fight in the US, as all but one of her fights have been abroad. Although the fight against Reis is not career defining, we know we are very excited to see her on HBO as part of the Golovkin-Martirosyan card.
Kudos to HBO for following Showtime’s recent move to make an effort to air coverage of women’s boxing. Understood that both have done so in the past but let’s hope it is sustainable this time around.
Speaking of women’s boxing, here is a link to Standing-8’s featured piece from last year on the topic- https://standing-8.com/2017/03/27/million-dollar-ladies-the-resurgence-of-womens-boxing/
Gender Equality-Gender Be Damned P4P Part 2-
Ireland’s Katie Taylor (9-0) achieved her goal of being a unified champion with a UD (99-91 98-92 and 99-91) over Victoria Burgos (18-5). She now holds both the WBA and IBF lightweight world titles.
Taylor used excellent movement and combination punching to bank rounds early but changed directions and began to exchange more in the later rounds.
Taylor is highly skilled and it is beautiful to watch her work her craft. Arguably the fastest hands with a killer left hook. We have not seen the best Taylor yet and as her opposition increases we will be in for a show.
HBO and Showtime- get Taylor on a card soon. Thank you.
Brownsville In The Hous….Brooklyn In The House
Danny Jacobs (34-2 29 KO) defeated Maciej Sulecki (26-1 10 KO) by UD (117-110, 116-111 and 115-112) in a tough, tough fight. Sulecki had some moments but Jacobs was more effective throughout culminating with his knockdown of Sulecki in the final round.
Jacobs is a throwback fighter in his approach and style. Every time I watch him, I want to put the broadcast in black and white, don a “Press” derby, light a cigar and start banging away on a Smith Corona.
After the fight, Jacobs stated, ”If Brooklyn wants Charlo, then Charlo it will be”, more specifically Jermall of the #LionsOnly twin siblings.
That would make for one hell of a fight.
For The Love Of The Game
On Saturday night, WBO World Junior Featherweight champion Jesse Magdelano, (25-1 18KO, and mandatory/interim WBO champion Isaac Dogboe, (19-0 13 KO) showed us again why we love this game.
A tough fight with both warriors showing incredible heart throughout. Although Dogboe stopped Magdelano in the eleventh and we saw the title change hands, there were no losers.
True warriors giving it all for the love of the game.
Bye-Bye A-Side, Bye Bye B-Side
Bryant Jennings (23-2, 13 KOs) has had opportunities in his career only to underachieve when the lights are the brightest, most notably the Klitschko and Ortiz fights. If he ever wants to reach that level again, he has to dispatch lower tier opponents. Even though he beat Joey Dawejko (19-5-4, 11 KOs), by UD 98-92 X3, he was unspectacular in doing so considering the opponent. I know Dawejko is a tough dude, but I need to see heavies making statements.
Anwser..An Oxymoron Or Paradox Nickname??
Question- What is Big Baby?
Jarrell Miller (21-0-1, 18 KOs) beat Johann Duhaupas (37-5, 24 KOs) by UD in a WBA world heavyweight title eliminator on Saturday night. Duhaupas is a gatekeeper nobody likes to face but they do it because they have to. After doing so, you’ll know you were in a fight. That said, I won’t go all Jennings on Miller but he should have gotten Duhaupas out of there.
For all the big man skills Miller has, he is technically flawed and when the quality of his opponents increase, the likelihood of them being exposed does as well. I can’t help but think he would be tailor-made for the tall heavies with the long reach. A stiff jab followed by power would be trouble for him.
Yo Riverside….I Did It…
Josesito Lopez (36-7, 19 KOs) turned back the clock and had one of his best wins in sometime beating Miguel Cruz’ (17-1, 11 KOs) by UD.
Fighting for the first time a few weeks over a year with new trainer Robert Garcia, Lopez used a relentless attack with excellent combination punching and committed body work.
Lopez is always in exciting fights and this performance should garner some attention.
Late Snippets-
Too Swift For His Own Good
Danny Garcia (31-1 19 KO) had his moments but it was not enough. Keith Thurman (28-0 22 KO) was just better. Thurman was masterful early using excellent movement while landing jabs, powerful combinations, and doing just enough body work to keep Garcia honest. The Garcia beard was as good as advertised. I still don’t know how he stayed on his feet with the early shot he took right off the chin that spun him around. As was stated, Thurman was masterful early. Thurman’s activity level greatly reduced in the second half of the fight. It appeared to me that he had hurt his right hand because he wasnt throwing it late as he was early, but that was not the case. Thurman simply stayed away and gave a few rounds away believing he had done enough to win. He was partly right but only because Garcia failed to cut off the ring with any regularity and while Garcia won rounds late, it wasnt enough.
Trojan Warrior
Standing ovation for Tony Bellew (29-2-1 19 KO) for his mammoth victory over David Haye (28-3 26 KO). Granted, Haye fought injured from about the sixth round until the stoppage in the eleventh but such is sports. As we all know now, Haye tore his Achilles but really, before that happened Bellew was giving as good as he was getting. This was a good old-fashioned donnybrook with two warriors giving their all. While we praise Bellew for the victory, Mr. Haye deserves just as much credit if not more in defeat. When you tear an Achilles, you basically lose the use of the leg that sustained the injury. For Haye to have lasted almost five more rounds in a street brawl with that type of injury is nothing short of extraordinary.
Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program…..
Girl Power
The resurgence of women’s boxing is amazing and will continue to grow. On Friday night, two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields (2-0 1 KO) stopped a game Szilvia Szabados (15-9 6 KO) in the fourth in front of her hometown fans of Flint/Detroit Michigan. This fight was entertaining in that Shields was throwing bombs on an opponent with a granite chin, while also showing a good chin of her own. I know Shields was hyped up at home for the knockout but she will benefit from working behind the jab to set up her power. Shields made this fight much harder than it needed to be but we’ll chalk that up to her excitement in that she was headlining the first ever women’s main event on a premium network.
Hot Shots-Part Lemieux
David Lemieux (37-3 33 KO) landed a left hook on Curtis Stevens (29-6 21 KO) that is still sending shock waves through the middleweight division. We knew the Canadian can bang but that short hook was a thing of beauty. To be fair, there was a right hand that landed before the KO shot but the short distance + the textbook hook on the chin sweet spot was lethal. The bout was entertaining until the stoppage with both men landing huge power shots. Lemieux did some great body work in the first which was the difference in the round. The second a bit closer, then the KO of the Year shot that ended things in the third. It was a blessing that Stevens was ok.
Meet Me In The Trap, It’s Going Down, Meet Me In The Mall, It’s Going Down, Meet Me In The Club, It’s Going Down, Anywhere Ya Meet Me Guaranteed To Go Down
Ok, it’s really like…Meet Me In The T-Mobile Arena It’s Going Down, such is the carousel of the Floyd Mayweather v. Coner McGregor rumored fight. The latest rumour is a June 10 matchup. A quick check of the hotels showed a 5X increase on June 9 and 10 at most Strip hotels. See the State of The Game article for Standing-8’s thoughts on this money-making circus act.
Boxing’s March Madness, Well, Sort Of
Super stoked for the World Boxing Super Series. The brainchild of former GBP CEO Richard Schaefer, now heading Ringstar Sports, and prominent UK promoter Kalle Sauerland, this bracketed tournament by weight class has us intrigued. The winner of each tournament (weight class) will win the Muhammad Ali trophy. A newly designed award approved by the Ali family. For more information, see World Boxing Super Series press releases on main page.
Miracle on 33rd Street
This Saturday night, Danny Jacobs (32-1 29 KO) will get his shot at the title. Problem is, the titles are guarded by Gennady Golovkin (36-0 33 KO). Jacobs has a well chronicled story, a champion in the ring of life against one of the most feared assassins, cancer. He was told he would never fight again but here he is in with GGG for the right to wear the middleweight straps. Standing-8 has always thought that a stiff jab gives GGG problems, thing is, his opponents are so worried about what will be coming in return they deviate from the game plan. Jacobs is not known to have a great jab so there may be trouble already; however, another Standing-8 observation is that GGG can be exploited up through the middle. Throw a shot from the floor to the bottom of his chin and you will hit pay dirt. In Standing-8’s preview of the Kell Brook v. GGG bout, The Case For Kell Brook, we speculated that if Brook, who throws a great uppercut could land that punch, it may impact the fight. Brook did land the punch and we saw GGG truly rocked for a moment but again, worried about the return artillery, Brook was unable to sustain his plan. Jacobs throws a decent uppercut so again, there may be opportunities. That said, we have seen Jacobs rocked a few times in his career against lesser punchers which is not good. Jacobs has already defeated a foe more formidable than any opponent he will see in a ring, why not a miracle on 33rd street?
Danny Garcia TKO 9 Over Paulie Malignaggi
Danny Garcia (31-0 18 KO) took his first step into the welterweight division this evening from Barclays in Brooklyn and stopped Paulie Malignaggi (33-7 9 KO) in the ninth round. The stoppage by Referee Arthur Mercante was the kind that some would say good stoppage, some too quick but both would agree that Garcia was well ahead.
Malignaggi did his best work while jabbing high and low and exhibiting excellent feints and footwork but his lack of power posed little threat to Garcia. As such, Garcia was able to control the fight and stalk Malignaggi while wearing him down over the course of the fight. Garcia cut Malignaggi under the right eye in the third and continued to go after it causing Mercante to direct the ring side physician to take a few looks. Prior to the ninth round, Mercante did tell Malignaggi that he would have to see something from him and if he took unneeded punishment he would stop it.
In the ninth, Malinaggi showed little while Garcia landed a crisp combination off of Malignagi’s head causing Mercante to jump in and put an end to the fight.
Malignaggi was not hurt badly but the combination of his cut and the lopsided scores at the time which were 79-73 X 2 and 78-74, apparently was enough for Mercante.
It’s not like this was a great performance by Garcia, he could have attacked Malignaggi and impose his will but never did. It will be interesting to see what happens when a more formidable opponent gets his chance at the new kid in the division.
Malignaggi, a class act who always gave his all, is nearing retirement but he won’t be far as his moonlighting job as an announcer will become full time.
Danny Jacobs TKO 2 Over Sergio Mora
Danny Jacobs (30-1 27 KO) defeated Sergio Mora (28-4 9 KO) in the second round when Mora went down and the fight was waved off but it was less of what Jacobs did and apparently a leg injury that was the culprit.
Mora stated that he “head something pop” in his knee and that he thinks his ankle is broken. The replay shows him going down awkwardly as he was moving away from Jacobs.
The fight started with explosion as both fighters tasted the canvas in the opening round . Jacobs dropped Mora with a crisp right hook half way through the first. Mora was a bit dazed but got up and took a cursory count. Jacobs closed in to finish him and got careless as Mora landed a left counter hook dropping Jacobs for only the second time in his career. Jacobs was probably hurt worse than Mora was but has excellent recuperative powers and was able to land a few more decent shots on Mora at the bell.
It’s too bad that this one had to end the way it did, the first round was probably the round of the year and it had all the signs of a great fight.
Update 8/2- Hopefully the decision will be changed to a “no-contest” because it has been reported that Mora suffered a fractured ankle.
A Swift Return And Exit
Danny Garcia returned to the ring on Saturday night from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and did what he was supposed to do, make quick work of opponent Rod Salka. Garcia knocked Salka silly by second round knockout by way of his money maker, the left hook. Not a whole lot can be made of the victory. “The Lighting Rod” was rated so poorly by the alphabet soup that the fight was not sanctioned, thus not putting Garcia’s WBC and WBA belts on the line. Even though Garcia wasn’t fighting a serious threat, he looked sharp and extremely quick. Prior to this fight, his last eight opponents were or had been former title holders. That is quite a run of top level competition so it’s not inexcusable to cut “Swift” a break here for choice of opponent. That said, his next defense better be against a legitimate threat (insert Lamont Peterson here) or his strong run will be for naught. Even with the victory, he moves down one on the Standing 8 P4P List.
Doctor’s Orders
Like Garcia, Lamont Peterson also did what was expected of him by thoroughly defeating 35 year old Edgar Santana by tenth round TKO. Peterson looked in top form using all phases of the sweet science in out landing Santana 281-94 in total punches. He worked the body like a madman recalling memories of Mike McCallum. Peterson dominated so thoroughly that the ringside doctor stopped the fight in the tenth, he had seen enough. A Peterson Garcia matchup would be a purist’s dream. This would be a matchup on the highest of levels. A boxing match that would see each fighter look to land their power shots. Let’s hope it’s made next.
Live Strong
Danny Jacobs kicked cancer in its ass. “The Miracle Man” has been an inspiration to many during his journey, but Saturday night he took it to another level when he defeated Jarrod Fletcher by fifth round TKO and captured the vacant WBA middleweight title. He is absolutely one of the nicest guys in the sport and a champion for a cause that is bigger than the sport.
Game On!
The bout between Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora is back on and scheduled for November 22 in London. Previously, they were set to meet on July 26 in Manchester, England but Chisora injured his left hand and had to pull out of the fight. This fight is a rematch of their July 2011 bout which saw Fury decision Chisora and give him his first loss. These two have had an entertaining war of words going on for a few years, so let’s just hope that it carries over into the ring.
Follow Me Into The Thunder(Dome)
The StubHub Center, or as I like to affectionately refer to as The Thunderdome, is known for classic slugfests and fights of the year candidates, most recently the Robert Guerrero vs. Yoshihiro Kamegai battle and April’s Lucas Matthysse vs. John Molina Jr. respectively. It should be no different this Saturday when the venue form Carson, California will be rocking once again with excellent matchups and intriguing story lines.
This card is ABSOLUTELY STACKED!!! Shawn Porter will be facing Kell Brook for Porter’s IBF welterweight title, an intriguing matchup that will not disappoint. The co-feature is a rematch between Sakio Bika and Anthony Dirrell who fought to a draw last December. If those two fights don’t get pumped, then add in Omar Figueroa vs. Daniel Estrada for Figueroa’s belt. WOW. Oh, and just for good measure, Deontay Wilder will be on the card to face an opponent not yet named but rumored to be Jason Gavern.
Standing-8 