‘I’M A KEY PLAYER IN THE DIVISION’
Danny Jacobs calls for Canelo unification, but remains open to 'GGG' rematch, writes John Dennen
GOLDEN BOY president Eric Gomez told Boxing News that Daniel Jacobs will have to get in line for the chance to take on Canelo Alvarez.
But that line got slightly shorter when David Lemieux was unable to make weight to fight on the undercard of Canelo’s most recent bout in New York. That seemingly puts Canada’s Lemieux, a promotional stablemate of Canelo’s, down the pecking order when it comes to snaring a contest with the Mexican superstar.
Jacobs, the IBF middleweight champion, is calling for a unification with Alvarez, who holds the WBC and WBA world titles at 160lbs.
“It’s an unfortunate situation [regarding Lemieux]. Obviously as a fighter we do the things that are necessary to make the weight to fight. But it’s dangerous at times,” Jacobs said. “Things like that happen in boxing.
“I wish him the best, it’s an unfortunate situation but if I can take advantage of an unfortunate situation, this is boxing. Sometimes you’ve got to get in where you fit in. For me I took the hard road, I fought the undefeated fighters. I proved myself and to get this opportunity, if it was to happen, it would be deserving in my opinion, although a little luck would go a long way too.”
With the IBF belt round his waist Jacobs maintains he is the most credible opponent for Alvarez to fight on May 4 2019 at the T-mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Right now I’m fortunate to be in the position that I’m in. I’m a champion,” he said. “For me that opens a lot of doors in general.”
“I may not be the A-side to a guy like Canelo but I’m a key player in the division,” Jacobs said. “To me it’s the right fight and if I can get that Canelo fight it will take my career to the next level.
“I’m in a good position so I’m excited, I’m anxious. I want this big fight. I want to fight Canelo.”
“What’s understood doesn’t really need to be said. For me I understand Canelo is the A-side because he’s the bigger draw. Regardless if I’m the better fighter or not, he’s the bigger draw. So ultimately he would be the A-side. He’s been champion. He has an incredible résumé so he’s rightfully so. But my thing is just as long as I’m treated as champion, I can take the B-side. It’s not a problem,” he explained. “It would be everything. It would be the closure of my chapter, this movie that I’m putting together in my mind of how my life and career is taking place, it’s incredible. I think if I can get that fight, I truly deep down in my heart feel like I can win, win impressively, decisively, with no controversy. So I’m just waiting till my turn. I’m just patiently waiting but, like I say, I’m in a great position.”
That unification with Canelo Alvarez is the fight Jacobs wants. But he would be open to taking on a man who no longer holds a world title, former rival Gennady Golovkin.
“Of course I would be interested in a ‘GGG’ rematch. I thought I won the
‘I CAN BEAT CANELO, DECISIVELY, WITHOUT DOUBT’
first fight and a lot of fans thought I won the first fight. It was kind of 50-50, however you want to look at it. I feel like it’s deserving of a rematch. So if I can’t get the fight that is the ultimate, which is Canelo, then we’re going to start going down the list of big fights and ‘GGG’ to me is next in line and then you have Jermall Charlo and everybody else,” Jacobs said. “I have a list of fighters that I want to fight and I’m not going to retire until I get those opportunities.”
His last victory, over Sergey Derevyanchenko, a former sparring partner, was good preparation for Golovkin. “I don’t think any fight goes exactly the way you want it to go. It wasn’t a sparring session for me. He wasn’t the same as if he was in sparring and that’s been a big thing for me going into the fight. Because I’ve said that sparring is different from actually being inside the ring. Because when you have bigger gloves on and you have the headgear, you can’t gauge how a guy’s going to take your punch. You can’t gauge how a guy’s going to take the speed and everything else. I knew he didn’t have that experience and looking back on it I give myself a really good grade because I fought I monster and it’s as simple as that. So I congratulate myself and I look forward to bigger and better things,” Jacobs said.
The American insists that he has not suffered physical wear and tear after his fight with Golovkin in 2017. “Abel Sanchez [Golovkin’s trainer] said that I lost a step or I haven’t looked the same since I fought ‘GGG,’” Jacobs said.
“But the bigger question is how has ‘GGG’ looked since he fought me? That’s the bigger question. I still feel like I’m in my prime. Obviously there’s wear and tear when you’re stepping in there with guys who are of world class calibre. I don’t plan on boxing for the rest of my life. I’ve got a good couple of years in me. But these good years I’m able to give my best.”
‘I’M STILL IN MY PRIME... I’VE GOT A GOOD COUPLE OF YEARS IN ME’