By Mark Eisner: John Ryder (31-5, 17 KOs) rallied from a deficit on Saturday night to defeat Daniel ‘Miracle Man’ Jacobs (37-4, 30 KOs) by a 12 round split decision in a WBA super middleweight title eliminator at the Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill, in London, England.

The scores were 115-113, 115-113 for Ryder, and 115-113 for Jacobs.

Jacobs dominated through the first seven rounds, using movement, precise punching a great of holding to keep Ryder from getting his shots off.

In the eighth round, Ryder turned things around, hurting Jacobs with a shot in close, and nailing him with shots. From that point on, Jacobs looked exhausted and lacked the power needed for him to win the last four rounds.

Undercard results for Jacobs vs. Ryder card.

Heavyweight prospect Johnny Fisher (5-0, 4 KOs) labored to an unimpressive six round points decision over 37-year-old journeyman Gabriel Enguiema (10-12, 6 KOs). The referee scored it 59-55. The 22-year-old Fisher suffered a cut over his left eye in the first round and looked exhausted after two rounds. Enguiema took advantage of Fisher’s poor stamina to nail him with shots. Luckily for Fisher, Enguima had no power and was hesitant to let his hands go much of the time in rounds three through six. Promoter Eddie Hearn is going to need to match Fisher better in the future because he’s clearly not capable of beating better than what we saw tonight. Fisher is a good ticket seller, but he doesn’t appear to have any ability as a fighter beyond the domestic level.
In a scrappy contest, middleweight fringe contender Felix Cash (15-0, 10 KOs) defeated the tough Magomed Madiev (15-1-2, 4 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision. Cash took a lot of punishment from the previously unbeaten Russian, but he came on to get the victory by the scores 95-92, 95-92, and 94-93. Cash was knocked down in the second round by Madiev after getting nailed by a big left hand. In the 10th, Madiev caught Cash again with a big shot that floored him.
Unbeaten female super bantamweight prospect Ellie Scotney (4-0) stayed undefeated with a narrow 10 round unanimous decision win over Jorgelina Guanini (9-4-2, 1 KOs) to claim the vacant WBA International strap. The scores were 96-94, 96-94, and 95-94.
Middleweight prospect Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (10-0, 8 KOs) stopped journeyman Javier Francisco Maciel (33-16, 23 KOs) in a sixth round knockout. Williams, 25, dropped Maciel twice in the sixth round. The referee Marcus McDonnell halted the fight after the second knockdown of the round. The time of the stoppage was at 1:02 of the sixth. Earlier in the fight, the big southpaw Williams knocked the 37-year-old Maciel down in the first round with a big right hand. Overall, it was a decent performance by Williams, but not the type of effort that suggests that he’s going to be capturing a world title anytime soon. Williams was getting hit by Maciel, and he was fortunate that the Argentinian lacked the power to hurt him.
Undefeated super bantamweight prospect Hopey Price (7-0, 2 KOs) stayed unbeaten with a blistering fourth round knockout win over Ricardo Roman (14-13-3, 5 KOs). The talented Price dropped Roman in the first and fourth rounds. The loss for Roman was his third straight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0S_-BtmMOQ

Preview: Jacobs eyeing second-division world title

The 35-year-old former IBF/WBA middleweight champion Jacobs’ chances of winning a second division world title will go up if Canelo chooses to vacate his WBA 168-lb title rather than face him.

If Canelo vacates his WBA belt, Jacobs will likely fight one of these contenders for the vacant title:

1. Aidos Yerbossynuly
2. Fedor Chudinov
3. Caleb Plant

“I didn’t know much about him. He’s a UK fighter, so I think the most I got out of him is when he fought Callum Smith,” said Daniel Jacobs to Secondsout when asked what he knows about John Ryder.

“He hasn’t been on my radar ever since, but he was an option, so I had to do my research,” said Jacobs on Ryder.

“I don’t give that up, it’s kind of personal, but at the same time, I’m glad I took this opportunity because it leads me into something I’ve always had hopes for, which is fighting in the UK as a professional and headlining,” said Jacobs when asked who was the other option that he was presented to pick from.

“It puts me right back where I left off, right back into the place where it puts me in title contention,” Jacobs said on what a win over Ryder will mean for his career.

“I want to be a two-time if not three-division champion,” said Jacobs. “We’ll see what the future has in store, but John Ryder is in the way of that, but victory would definitely put be right back in that position.

“Well, I haven’t given much thought about any other fighter besides this fight right now,” said Jacobs when asked if he believes Canelo Alvarez will vacate his WBA 168-lb title rather than face him in a rematch should he come out victorious against Ryder.

“Right now, this is what I have all my marbles in terms of my focus. So, I want to look good, I want to perform good and I want to experience tonight.

Danny happy fighting in front of crowd

“Going from not fighting in front of a crowd to fighting in front of a sold-out crowd, it’s going to be something I want to live, soak in and be present in,” said Jacobs.

“I think it means more to me because I’m my biggest critic. To be proud of myself in all my outings.

When I go back and I see some of the people critique me, it doesn’t truly do anything for me. It just allows me to see other people’s opinions. What really matters is how I feel about myself.

“I just want to be proud of everything I did every time I stepped inside that ring.

“It’s kind of hard to say. I think when my career is all said and done, I’ll be able to give that great assessment, but every fighter poses a different threat.

“They pose different things inside that ring, so it’s kind of hard to tell you right now,” said Jacobs when asked who thus far has given him his most problems during his 15-year professional career.