By Mark Eisner: Daniel Jacobs (37-3, 30 KOs) won a close 12 round split decision against Gabriel Rosado (25-13-1, 14 KOs) on Friday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Hollywood, Florida.
The scores were 115-113, 115-113 for Jacobs, and 115-113 for Rosado. Boxing News 24 had it for Jacobs 115-113.
“I don’t think I had the best performance,” said Jacobs. “I didn’t think it was that close. I thought it was a boxing sparring match inside the ring. It was weird without the fans.”
“I thought I won the fight,” said Rosado. “I outboxed him, I out-jabbed him. I caught him off guard. He landed more shots against Canelo and GGG. He was as surprised as I was [that he won. This guy went to battle with Canelo and GGG. When it was time to exchange, he didn’t want to.
“He was the one that was clinching. Since 2014, I haven’t been cut. I thought I’ll let him get emotional and I’ll use that against him. I’m a veteran, it’s a shame. I don’t know why they didn’t give me the decision. I applied pressure when I had to. I thought I won today,” said a disappointed Rosado.
Jacobs fought timidly through most of the fight in the same way he did in the first half of his fights against Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. The difference tonight was Jacobs fought timidly for the entire 12 round fight.
The performance from Jacobs wasn’t the type that he needed for him to entice GGG and Canelo to give him a rematch, which is what he’s pining away for.
With that said, Jacobs has a high enough ranking for his promoter Eddie Hearn to get him a title shot against WBA 168-lb champion Callum Smith, WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders or IBF champion Caleb Plant.
Live action:
- Lightweight contender Emmanuel Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) defeated Mason Menard (36-5, 25 KOs) by a 10 round decision. the scores were 95-95, 96-94, and 98-92
- Two-time super heavyweight Olympian Mahammadrasul Majidov (3-0, 3 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten Sahret Delgado (8-1, 7 KOs) in a third-round stoppage. The fight was halted after the 34-year-old Majidov hurt the tired Delgado with a right hand in the third. The fight was stopped at 47 seconds of round three.
- Middleweight prospect Nikita Ababiy (10-0, 6 KOs) defeated Brandon Maddox (7-4-1, 5 KO) by a six-round unanimous decision. The scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 59-55. The 22-year-old Ababiy looked less than impressive in struggling to dominate the 34-year-old Maddox, who has lost three out of his last four fights. Ababiy looked gassed out by the fourth, and he threw a lot of rabbit punches. His power didn’t look impressive for the 160-lb division. In the future, Ababiy needs to consider moving down to 154 where his power will be more impressive. A haircut wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
- Welterweight Daniyar Yeleussinov (10-0, 6 KOs) destroyed former IBF/WBA light-welterweight Champion Julius Indongo (23-4, 12 KOs) by a second-round knockout. The 2016 Olympic gold medalist Yeleussinov flattened the 37-year-old Indongo with an overhand right. Indongo hurt his right leg while falling, and the fight needed to be halted. Indongo was also dropped in the first round with a short left from the 29-year-old Yeleussinov. The time of the stoppage was 1:24 of round two. “For me, it was easy work. I’m one of the best in the welterweight division,” said Yeleussinov. “I want to fight. It was boring waiting for fights for boxers. To do this, I do a good job. I hope, I hope. After this fight, I go to the ratings. Who’s next for me? Whoever Eddie gives me, I’m ready.”
Preview:
Daniel Jacobs will be fighting in the main event tonight against Gabriel Rosado in a 12-round fight live on DAZN in a contest that will settle their personal issues, or at least that’s the official reason for this contest taking place.
Former IBF/WBA middleweight champion ‘Miracle Man’ Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) wants to get a feel for the super middleweight division, so he’s 160-pounder Rosado (25-12-1, 4 KOs). The two will be fighting at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. The start time for tonight’s Jacobs vs Rosado card is at 8:00 p.m. ET.
A win for Rosado would be a massive upset, as he’s being brought to give Jacobs an opponent to showcase his talent.
Jacobs targeting the big three
According to Jacobs, he intends on fighting a good opponent in his next fight after he deals with Rosado. Jacobs says he’s targeting fights against these champions:
- Canelo Alvarez
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Jermall Charlo
Perhaps the real reason for Jacobs choosing the 34-year-old Rosado is it gives him a safe opponent to shake off the ring rust from 11 months of inactivity.
If Jacobs didn’t insist on taking this fight with Rosado, his promoters at Matchroom Boxing would have wanted him to take a dangerous fight against one of the world champions at 168.
That would mean Jacobs would have to jump into the deep end at super middleweight against the likes of WBA champ Callum Smith, IBF champ Caleb Plant or WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders.
Those would have been incredibly tough fights for Jacobs, especially given that his recent warm-up fight was against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. That match-up did nothing for Jacobs to experience what he’ll be dealing with when he goes after one of the champions at 168.
Daniel not taking any risks
The constant talk about Rosado being picked for Joshua for personal reasons is obviously an excuse to cover up the reality of Daniel wanting to take an easy fight after being out of the ring for a year. The last real fight Jacobs had was against Canelo Alvarez in May 2019.
That was a year and a half ago. Jacobs is hurting his career by being away from world-class for such a long period of time, but he’s financially set after the huge payday he got against Canelo.
Fighters that aren’t in a similar position as Jacobs financially would likely have opted to fight for a world title rather than wasting time with a fight against Rosado like Jacobs is doing.
The undercard fights for tonight’s Jacobs-Rosado card are as follows:
- Emmanuel Tagoe vs. Mason Menard
- Mahammadrasul Majidov vs. Sahret Delgado
- Nikita Ababiy vs. Brandon Maddox
- Daniyar Yeleussinov vs. Julius Indongo