By Sean Jones: Daniel Jacobs still rates himself above Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin despite having lost to both of them. Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) says he wants to fight the winner of their trilogy match, but it would need to be at 168. Jacobs is now competing at super middleweight, and he’s already beaten Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in that weight division.
When asked to rank the top five fighters in boxing, Jacobs came up with this list:
- Errol Spence Jr.
- Gervonta Davis
- Anthony Joshua
- Terence Crawford
- Danny Jacobs
It’s amusing, but not all that surprising that Jacobs rates himself ahead of Canelo and GGG. To this day, Jacobs, 33, maintains that he deserved the win in his match against Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) in March 2017.
GGG won the fight by a 12 round unanimous decision by the scores 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113. Jacobs let Golovkin build an insurmountable lead in the first six rounds of the bout, and then he was forced to play catchup in the second half.
Danny failed to do enough in the eyes of the three judges for him to get back into the fight, but he still thinks he won. In Jacobs’ battle against Canelo last year in May, he started slowly and let Canelo get way ahead on the judges’ scorecards. Again, just like in the GGG fight, Jacobs came storming back in the last six rounds to make it close.
Both fights were winnable for Jacobs had he showed more aggression in the first part f the fight, but he didn’t do enough. He needs to blame himself for the losses rather than viewing it as a case of the judges giving it to the wrong guy.
Jacobs targeting Canelo-GGG winner
“It was hard to put GGG ahead of Canelo, and it was hard to put Canelo ahead of GGG,” said Jacobs to ESPN. “But his activity and his competition regardless of all the stipulations that he put in fighting guys that were past their prime, irrespective of how you want to slice the cake, I feel he’s ahead of GGG.
“I see the fight playing out like this. Golovkin has been aging over the last couple of fights,” said Jacobs when asked who wins the third Canelo vs. GGG fight.
“I think it matters which of the two fighters shows up. We know that Canelo is still younger and in his prime. Golovkin would be using his experience. We don’t know too much about that fight right now, but I would love the winner obviously at 168 pounds. I don’t see both fighters staying at 160 pounds for the remainder of their careers,” said Jacobs.
“It wasn’t enough to put on the list,” said Jacobs when asked why he excluded Canelo and Golovkin from his top five fighters in boxing. “You only gave me five, and I picked my top five.
“Those guys I mentioned are guys that I really like to watch. Being biased or not, I just feel like these are the top five guys. You can arguably say are the top five in the world,” said Jacobs.
People would be put off right now if Jacobs were to fight the winner of Canelo vs. Golovkin 3. It’s not that the fans wouldn’t want to see Jacobs facing one of those two guys again. Jacobs hasn’t done anything since his loss to Canelo to deserve to fight the Canelo-GGG 3 winner.
Proving himself important for Jacobs at 168
“That opportunity still looks for me [to fight the Canelo vs. Golovkin 3 winner], but obviously, I need to become a champion,” said Jacobs. “Boxing is a business, and for me to get a rematch, I would have to offer something.
“Let me do my job,” said Jacobs. The super middleweight division is stacked. There’s a bunch of champions there. If the opportunity presents itself, I would love it, but obviously, fighters have to work for all the opportunities they get.
“I am looking forward to getting back,” said Jacobs. “It has seemed long. Early on in my career, at least until I was 15-0, I fought every other month. So it was good to take a break finally and then fight three times a year.
For me, it was perfect. Having space in between fights so my body can rest isn’t the worst thing. More than anything, I’m worried about the safety of the world. Everyone unite, and everyone comes together when it’s safe to do so,” said Jacobs.
It would be smart for Jacobs to first dethrone one of the champions at super middleweight before he starts banging the drum for rematches against Golovkin and Canelo.
Jacobs needs to beat David Benavidez, Callum Smith, or Caleb Plant. Those are the real dogs in the 168-lb division. Jacobs will need to seriously consider fighting without the fans if he wants to stay active in 2020 and possibly 2021.
Fighting without fans not of interest for Daniel
“It is a weird thought, but I would hope not because the culture of boxing is motivated by the fans,” said Jacobs when asked about his thoughts on fighting behind closed doors. “It’s nothing without the fans.
“We would want to please the fans, and if it’s our only option, then I would support it. The fans want some actual fights, and if they have to be forced home. The best we can do is make sure we’re safe in our environment to go out to fight for the fan, even if there are no fans in the stands.
“They can then see the fight live. I’m for that, but obviously, it wouldn’t be the same for the fighters, and the outcome wouldn’t be the same as well. Fighters won’t give it there all without fans being there to cheer them on,” said Jacobs.
There aren’t too many fighters that have an interest in fighting with fans, but they’ll do what they have to do to.
Beating a shot Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. isn’t enough in the eyes of fans for Jacobs to get another crack at Canelo or Golovkin.
Jacobs wants Callum Smith
“I feel those other guys and opportunities are just as big,” said Jacobs in talking about the champions at 168. “And I feel that a fight against Callum Smith is the biggest, as far as DAZN fighters go. I feel like it’s the biggest super middleweight fight that can be made. As far as Billy Joe Saunders goes, I feel like we don’t know what fighter would show up or even if he can make it to the ring.
“In my last fight on DAZN, I want to make sure I give the fans what they want, but in a safe environment and a safe place, and then move on to bigger and better things,” said Jacobs.
“I have a gym here, so I work out in my gym daily,” said Jacobs. “And I play basketball with my son. I have a basketball court here as well. I’m pretty fit, and I walk a lot as well,” said Jacobs.
Fighting WBA super-middleweight champion Callum Smith would make their mutual promoter Eddie Hearn quite happy. Smith needs a big name, and Jacobs would supply him with that. Hearn looked disappointed recently when Jacobs told him that he wants to fight journeyman Gabe Rosado next.
It was so easy to read the disappointment on Hearn’s face when Jacobs said he wanted to fight Rosado most of all. Jacobs had already had a soft tune-up fight against Chavez Jr. last December on DAZN, and here he was saying he wanted another tune-up against Rosado.
You had to feel sorry for Hearn at that moment because he thought he was going to get great fights out of Jacobs when he signed him.
