Danny Jacobs not Golden anymore!

By Boxing News - 08/01/2010 - Comments

Image: Danny Jacobs not Golden anymore!By Christian Ramos: Golden Boy’s nightmare came true, and Daniel “The Golden Child” Jacobs 20-1 (17), suffers his first defeat by way of 5th round T.K.O. at the hands of the new WBO Middleweight Champion, or better stated titleholder, Dmitry Pirog 17-0 (14) of Russia. Though I’m nowhere near as critical as Jim Lampley, it is clear that Sergio Martinez, unless otherwise proven, is still the Middleweight Champion of the World. Nevertheless, Pirog scores an impressive stoppage win in a fight that Danny Jacobs was never really in to begin with, although the judges interestingly had the fight 3 rounds to 1 for Jacobs at the time of the stoppage. Needless to say, Jacobs was the American fighter who was being heavily promoted and supported by Golden Boy and HBO.

It’s interesting to note, that with his 1st title shot and only 20 fights, the young Jacobs was actually the veteran between the two, having the greater amateur pedigree and TV exposure. Pirog presented an awkward shell and tight defense right from the beginning when Jacobs attempted a sneaky right to begin the fight. He was constantly giving Jacobs many angles and landing punches even from a southpaw stance. He first hurt him with a right hand in the 2nd round, but Jacobs was able to recovery and go back to his corner. Pirog would keep getting off with ease maintaining himself at perfect distance, and Jacobs would only find shoulders, gloves, and elbows every time he thought he had an opportunity to land something meaningful. In the 5th round, Jacobs would back up against the ropes and Pirog would land a solid straight right on the chin. It was a very frustrating loss for the young Jacobs whose grandmother passed away last Sunday, but still has a bright future ahead of him in boxing, fighting in a division in need of talent.

You can add Danny Jacobs to the list along with Victor Ortiz, Jorge Linares, and Amir Khan as Golden Boy prospects to wind up with an upset K.O. defeat while seemingly on their way to stardom (Khan signed with Golden Boy after his loss). To his credit, it can be argued that he could have made the count. Jacobs was certainly out for at least 5 seconds while referee Robert Byrd began the count, but Byrd decided to stop the fight right before he attempted to get up. One may dispute that they were both undefeated and it was a title shot, and therefore Jacobs should have gotten at least the chance of getting up. Either way, Pirog was clearly the better fighter, and Jacobs had no answers. There is a new WBO Middleweight Champion and new star in the division, and he’s from Russia.



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