On Saturday night, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez scored a unanimous decision victory over Daniel Jacobs to become the unified WBA “super”, WBC, and IBF middleweight champion. The fight took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
Canelo vs. Jacobs – Fight Recap
The first round did not have much action, with both fighters choosing to carefully feel out their opponent rather than take any big risks. Both landed a handful of clean shots, but I gave the round to Jacobs. For most of the next 4 or 5 rounds, Jacobs would be on the defensive, allowing Canelo would take a big lead on the scorecards. Alvarez’s accuracy and strength, especially with his stiff jab, seemed to be causing Jacobs problems.
In the next half of the fight, Jacobs would begin to sit down more on his punches, clearly trying to hurt Alvarez, though the latter took the power shots well. Jacobs’ hand speed and timing allowed him to land some clean shots, including a huge left hand at the end of the ninth round that would most likely have floored a normal fighter. The last couple of rounds had more back-and-forth action, though there were no “huge” moments.
To summarize: the first half of the fight was a tactical battle which Canelo won, the second half had more action with Jacobs having a bit more success. Overall, Canelo did just enough to win the fight by staying composed and picking his shots better. CompuBox credited him with landing 57 more punches overall at a 40.3% connect rate. Jacobs threw more, but landed only 20.2% of his punches.
I scored the fight 115-113 for Canelo Alvarez. I did give Jacobs three of the final six rounds, as did all three judges. I could see 114-114 or 116-112 as reasonable scores, since there were a number of close rounds. Official judges scores were 115-113 (x2) and 116-112Â for Alvarez.
Though it was far from an action-packed brawl, I thought the fight was a chess match between two tough, experienced, skilled champions. Both fighters displayed good defense and strong chins; neither was going to just let their opponent run them over. With an aging Gennady “GGG” Golovkin facing the relatively unknown Steve Rolls in June, Canelo truly established himself as the best middleweight in the world with this victory.
Canelo said after the fight that he is looking for a “big challenge” and is open to a fighting Golovkin for a third time. Jacobs stated that he felt like he won the fight. Jacobs’ promoter Eddie Hearn said that he would like for his fighter to move up to super middleweight.
Other Notable Fight Results
- Artur Beterbiev KO5 Radivoje Kalajdzic
- Jerwin Ancajas KO7 Ryuichi Funai
- Joseph Diaz TKO7 Freddy Fonseca
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. KO3 Mauricio Herrera
- John Ryder TKO3 Bilal Akkawy
So obviously a trilogy fight with GGG is a possibility for Canelo’s next fight. Undefeated WBO 160 lb. champion Demetrius Andrade is another potential opponent, and Alvarez could possibly fight at super middleweight again.
Was the decision fair or controversial? Who makes the most sense for Canelo to fight next? Is Jacobs set to move up to 168? Comment below with your opinion.