HE’S BACK, ALL RIGHT
Jacobs, the kid who KO’d cancer, a knockout in B’klyn
DANNY JACOBS has a long list of boxing accomplishments to his credit, but none like this.
Jacobs, a cancer survivor who endured partial paralysis in his legs and was advised to never fight again, returned to the ring with a rousing victory on Saturday night, knocking out Josh Luteran 1:13 into the first round of the inaugural boxing card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The super middleweight unleashed a picture-perfect left-hook, right-hand uppercut combination, knocking Luteran on his backside, where Luteran stayed for more than a minute.
Jacobs, who wore pink boxing shoes, black shorts and a determined look, paused to admire his handiwork. He then jumped to the top turnbuckle with a wide grin, looked at the crowd, then returned to the ring, where he dropped to his knees and was embraced by his trainer, Victor Roundtree.
Jacobs (23-1, 20 knockouts) hadn’t fought since March 5, 2011.
“They told me I would never box or walk again,” Jacobs, a product of Brownsville, said after the fight. “I proved everyone wrong.”
In May of 2011, Jacobs was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer that revealed itself in a quartersized tumor the size of a walnut wrapped around his spine. The tumor damaged his nerves and caused partial paralysis in his legs.
Doctors advised him to quit the sport, saying the risk of injury would be too great. But Jacobs refused to consider that option.
After several successful procedures removed the tumor, Jacobs returned to training, sparring before he should, getting hit more than he should. He still walked with a slight limp, but Jacobs was determined to resume his once golden fight career. Now, he’s cancer-free, no longer limping around the ring, and he believes he’s back to being the fighter he was before the cancer.
“No moment has ever been greater than this right now,” he said on Saturday. “Just being from Brooklyn to fight on the first night of the Brooklyn show, it just feels great.”
Before Jacobs was knocked out by Dmitry Pirog in the 10th round of a 2010 title bout, he was supposed to headline this opening night show, such was his magnetic appeal and dazzling talent. Perhaps one day soon he will.
In another undercard bout, the undefeated junior middleweight Eddie Gomez of the Bronx also made short work of his opponent, landing a devastating counter left hook to the chin of Saul Benitez, who collapsed on impact at 1:23 of the first round.
Gomez, who improved his record to 11-0 with eight knockouts, is scheduled to fight at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 1, on the undercard of Miguel Cotto’s bout with Austin Trout.
“This is what I wanted to do,” the 20-year-old Gomez said. “This is the kind of statement I wanted to make. Being the youngest fighter on this card and being from the Bronx, I had to make a good impression. I was happy with my performance.”
Dmitriy Salita, the popular Orthodox Jewish fighter from Brooklyn, won a workmanlike unanimous decision against Brandon Hoskins by scores of 60-54, 5955 and 59-55.
Salita has been outspoken about his desire to face WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi at the Barclays Center and it was crucial that he get by this fight to even entertain that possibility. In another result, Luis Collazo (32-5) won a unanimous decision against Steve Upsher (24-21) by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 77-75 in a junior middleweight bout.
In a mild surprise, Jason Thompson, who hadn’t fought in two years, battled Boyd Melson (9-1-1) to a draw in the first boxing match ever staged at the Barclays Center, with each fighter tasting the canvas once.