Daniel Jacobs vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Junior close for Dec.13 on DAZN

By Boxing News - 09/30/2019 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Former world champion Daniel ‘The Miracle Man’ Jacobs (35-3, 29 KOs) and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (51-3-1, 33 KOs) are close to having a deal done for them to fight on DAZN on December 13. This will be a move up in weight for former IBF middleweight champion Jacobs in fighting Chavez Jr. at 168.

Jacobs could have taken a tougher opponent than the 33-year-old Chavez Jr. in his first fight at super middleweight, but wouldn’t be as much interest. Chavez Jr is well known in the boxing world, and Jacobs will get more attention facing him than he would against some of the top contenders.

The ‘Miracle Man’ Jacobs outgrew 168-lb division

After 12 years as a pro, Jacobs has decided that it was time for him to make the move up to super middleweight. His last fight against Saul Canelo Alvarez helped convince him that should start campaigning in a higher weight. Jacobs gave Canelo problems before losing a 12 round unanimous decision to him last May on DAZN.

This is going to be a tough transition for Jacobs to be moving up to super middleweight in this late stage in his career. It would have been better for Jacobs to have made the move up to 168 years ago when he was still in his 20s. Jacobs has always looked huge for the middleweight division, and he could have potentially done better if he’d move up while Andre Ward, Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler were still around.

The way things are now, there aren’t any big names at super middleweight. Canelo holds the WBA regular 168-lb title, but he’s not likely to fight any of the serious fighters like David Benavidez, Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders. Canelo already beat Jacobs, so he’s not going to fight him again.

Chavez Jr. still punching hard

Jacobs will need to be careful that he doesn’t get clipped by one of Chavez’s big shots, as he looked good in his recent 1st round knockout of Evert Bravo on August 10. That was Chavez’s first fight in two years since his one-sided 12 round decision loss to Saul Alvarez in 2017.  Chavez Jr. looked as good as ever with the way he targeted Bravo’s body, and took him out quickly. Jacobs won’t last long if Chavez Jr. is able to land his shots to his midsection.

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