Daniel Jacobs and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. close to deal for Dec.13 on DAZN

By Boxing News - 10/15/2019 - Comments

By Trevor McIntyre: Former middleweight champions Danny Jacobs and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. are close to agreeing to a deal for a fight on December 13 on DAZN, according to @MikeCoppinger. The fight will be contested at super middleweight.

Former WBC middleweight champion Chavez Jr. (51-3-1, 33 KOs) posted a photo of himself on Tuesday working out at his house on a heavy bag. He looks pretty good right now for someone that is training himself.

Chavez-Jacobs needs to wrap up negotiations soon

If Chavez and Jacobs are going to get this fight in by December 13, they’re going to need to get the contract signed as soon as possible. If the negotiations draw out into November, their training camps will be abbreviated to the extreme. The good news is that Chavez Jr. is looking good, because he’s someone that has had weight problems in the past.

Ever since Chavez Jr. moved up to 168 in 2013, he’s had major problems trying to make the weight for the division. It takes discipline for a guy as large as Chavez Jr to melt down to fight at super middleweight. You can argue that Chavez Jr. should be fighting at light heavyweight, but he lacks the punch, chin and the talent to compete with big bangers in that weight class.

Danny Jacobs moves up to 168

Jacobs has struggled recently to make 160 in the last couple of years, and he finally decided move up to 168. In his fight against Gennadiy Golovkin in 2018, he looked to be in the 190s after he rehydrated. As big as Jacobs is, he could be drained even in the 168-lb weight division.

This will be the 32-year-old former IBF middleweight champion Jacobs’ first fight in the 168-lb weight division. He last fought in May in losing a close 12 round unanimous decision to Saul Canelo Alvarez in a unification match that was streamed on DAZN. This is going to be an interesting experiment for Jacobs to see if he can fight at a high level at 168. He may not like what he finds. At 160, Jacobs is one of the best fighters in the division, but that’s because he’s got the size and power advantage over most of his opponents. At super middleweight, it’s going to be a different story for Jacobs. He’s going to have to rely on his boxing skills more than he ever has in the 168-lb division.

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