By Kenneth Friedman: Daniel ‘Miracle Man’ Jacobs and Gabriel Rosado have agreed to a fight on DAZN for November 27th. Mike Coppinger is reporting the Jacobs vs. Rosado fight is agreed on, and DAZN is on board.
The streaming giant wanted the 33-year-old former IBF/WBA middleweight champion Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) to face highly ranked 168-lb contender John Ryder, but he was able to get the guy that he wanted against the 34-year-old Rosado (25-12-1, 14 KOs).
It’s an odd choice for Jacobs to be fighting Rosado, as he was supposed to have moved up to 168 in 2019, but he’s still not facing guys from that division. In Jacobs’ last contest against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr last December, the match took place at light heavyweight.
You’ve got to feel a little bit sorry for DAZN putting a mismatch like Jacobs vs. Rosado on their platform, as it’s not likely to bring in any new subscribers. Like Jacobs’ previous mismatch against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Jacobs-Rosado is a good undercard level fight, but not a headliner.
It’s likely that DAZN will place the Jacobs vs. Rosado fight in the main event on November 27th, which will likely result in poor numbers. Any way you want to look at the match, it’s an undercard level fight and we’re not talking co-feature.
It’s more three or four from the top. It’s interesting that DAZN would agree to put the Jacobs vs. Rosado fight on because it’s on the same level as Daniel’s last mismatch against Chavez Jr.
Danny taking the safe route
Jacobs easily won by a 5th round stoppage in Phoenix, Arizona. Jacobs, Chavez Jr, and the trainers had to dart out of the ring after the fans begun throwing trash after the contest had ended. The fans were upset about Chavez Jr quitting in his corner due to a broken nose.
Jacobs’ promoter Eddie Hearn wanted him to fight Ryder or Callum Smith, but he’s decided on Rosado, who has a lot of losses on his resume. In a way, the fight is good for Jacobs because it increases his chances of avoiding another loss.
Danny has already been beaten by Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, and Dmitry Pirog. Many boxing fans also think Jacobs deserved a loss in his fight against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2018.
There’s not much for Jacobs to gain in fighting Rosado, as he’s not viewed by fans as a top guy at 160. Rosado has had his chances in fights against the likes of Gennady Golokin, Peter Quillin, and Jermell Charlo, but he’s lost every time.
I’m looking forward to proving all the doubters wrong. #KGR #LetsWork
— Gabriel Rosado (@KingGabRosado) September 30, 2020
“Daniel Jacobs and Gabe Rosado have agreed to fight Nov. 27 in a headline bout on DAZN, sources tell @TheAthleticBOX. Will be Jacobs’ second bout at 168 pounds. As @Idecboxing first reported, DAZN pushed for John Ryder as the opponent,” said @MikeCoppinger.
It’s not a big deal that Jacobs passed up on he idea of fighting Ryder. That’s an opponent that would do every little for Danny’s career because Ryder is an unknown in the U.S. With that said, Jacobs needs to start stepping it up in terms of the competition, considering this is his second consecutive gimme opponent that DAZN is showing.
DAZN let Jacobs face the washed-up Chavez Jr last December in a horrible fight.
Rosado sees Jacobs as arrogant and cocky
“The fight between me and Danny [Jacobs] was supposed to take place back in June, but due to the pandemic shut it all down,” said Rosado to Esnews. “We’ve been in talks with his team, and we’re all on board. Danny is on board, and I’m on board and my team.
“It’s just a matter of getting it on board with DAZN, and Eddie Hearn is with it. It’s just a matter of getting it situated. DAZN is going through some things that they’ve got to manage. Look, if this pandemic weren’t happening, the fight would have gone down.
“I’m locked in. I did gain 19 pounds during the quarantine, but I lost it. The first month was horrible, but I kind of got back into my flow of things and ate right. My mindset is already starting to get in that camp mode. Every time me and Danny see each other, it’s always a confrontation. I
“It’s not that I don’t like the guy. He’s from Brooklyn, and I’m from Philly. It’s a fight that I always thought was great for the fans. It never happened in the past, but we’re at a point in our careers where we’re not getting any younger. Let’s get this thing popping before it’s too late,” Gabriel said.
Danny is a confident fighter, and he always has been. He also doesn’t take losses too well, as we saw in his defeats against Pirog, Golovkin, and Canelo.
Jacobs is a good contender level fighter, but no a world champion-level guy. In some respects, Jacobs’ self-confidence is out of whack from what he’s achieved during his career. Jacobs has never shown himself to be good enough of a fighter to hold down a belt for any length of time.
At this point in Jacobs’ career, it’s unlikely that he’ll ever win a world title at 168. Part of the reason is he’s stalling out of his career by taking soft opponents like Chavez Jr and Rosado. Those fights will eat up a year of Jacobs’ career, and who knows the type of opponent that he’ll be insisting on after the Rosado fight. It seems like Jacobs is the one that selects his opponents and not his promoters.
If Jacobs chooses to face Ryder after the Rosado fight, then he would eat up another six to eight months of his career. Jacobs will be turning 34 in February, and that’s not young.
Gabriel expects New Yorkers to support him over Danny
“It don’t matter where the fight is at. Look, Danny is on the same page,” said Rosado about Jacobs. “He said, ‘We can make the fight in Philly. Let’s go.’ I’ll fight him in Brooklyn. Danny knows that if I fight him in Brookly, it would be like fighting him in Philly.
“It would be like fighting in Philly because New York would rock with me before they rock with him. Yeah,” said Rosado when asked if he’ll have more fans than Jacobs will in his own hometown. Danny’s alright.
“Look, when it comes to this fight game, the man [Jacobs] can fight. The man’s a champion [ex-champ]. He can fight. I’m not dissing this man in the sense of he can’t fight and skills. It’s more of a character thing. Just the way he talks about me in interviews.
“He says, ‘Gabriel Rosado knows his place,’ and talks with this cocky and arrogant [way]. Look, I’m certified in the game. I get respect everywhere I go. Me and Danny can cross the street, and nobody the f*** is going to know who he is.
“I can probably say that in a non-cocky way that the fans have embraced me on a different note where it’s that mentality of never giving up and never quitting. Always putting it out there,” said Rosado.
It’s pointless for Rosado to even talk about the crowd being on his side on November 27th because his fight with Jacobs will likely wind up behind closed doors without fan due to the pandemic. But if you want to talk about a hypothetic situation where crowds will be there, Rosado clearly will have the fans eating out of his hand against Jacobs.
It won’t be surprising if the New York crowd is on Rosado’s side fighting against Jacobs. That’s a predictable outcome, as Jacobs isn’t a huge name, and part of the problem is a lot of his fights during his career has been outside of New York in places like Las Vegas and Chicago. You’re not going to build yourself into a hometown star if you don’t fight there.
In contrast, Rosado has stayed closer to home than Jacobs, fighting mostly on the East Coast during his 14-year pro career. The fact that Rosado has ought so many times on the East Coast will result in him having the New York crowd on his side.
Jacobs has had things easier than Rosado
“We have different backgrounds as far as how we came up in this game. Danny’s s*** was tailormade for him,” said Rosado. “I’m not saying that he didn’t have to put the work in. Of course, you’ve got to put the work in.
“But what I’m saying is I come from working at Home Depot, and I come from training for 12 round fights to get in the top 10 rankings. When I fought to get the #1 rankings in the world, I was working a graveyard shift. I come from that side.
“Nobody was paying my bills. Ain’t nobody was taking care of me. I was taking care of myself, and that’s where I lie. So I’ve had a different type of career where fans have identified with me. ‘Rosado is a blue-collar fighter.’
“So for me to still be in the game 14 years later and still be relevant, that says a lot. That’s the sense that when he [Jacobs] downplays me, the man doesn’t understand what I had to go through to get to where I’m at. If I had his route, who knows? It’s just different,” Rosado said.
If Jacobs has had things more comfortable than Rosado, it’s because he’s a far better talent. Rosado has always been a fringe-level fighter throughout his career. He’s been given a lot of chances against big-name boxers. He hasn’t ever beaten any of them, unfortunately.
The fighters that Rosado has beaten haven’t been ranked enough for him to get much from destroying them. But even though Jacobs hasn’t had the same challenging route that Rosado has had, he hasn’t been able to stay a world champion for long.
Jacobs has captured two world titles at middleweight during his 13-year professional career, but he lost both belts almost immediately in defeats against Golovkin and Canelo. While Jacobs has had the easier route, it hasn’t translated to longterm success. Jacobs’ 15 minutes of fame have been fleeting.