By Miguel Maravilla
IBF middleweight champion Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York is pumped up for his showdown as he takes on WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Jacobs squares off against Canelo on May 4th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas streamed live on DAZN.
“I’m feeling confident. My confidence is through the roof. This is not my first rodeo. I plan on having a great camp and give a good show May 4th,” Daniel Jacobs told Fightnews.com® Monday night as the champ wrapped up a three-city press conference tour in promoting his showdown with Canelo.
“It’s been a phenomenal experience. The love from the fans and I was surprised that I got the love, I received in Mexico City,” Jacobs on the press conference tour.
For this fight, Jacobs will hold camp in Brooklyn then resume and wrap up his camp in California as he prepares for Canelo under his trainer Andre Rozier.
“We’re going to spend the beginning of the camp in New York and then finish off in California,” Jacobs on his preparation. “What’s pushing me for this camp is being the best I can be,” Jacobs added.
Jacobs won a split decision over Sergey Derevyanchenko in his last fight as he picked up the vacant IBF middleweight title. The champ comes into this fight with a three-fight win streak since dropping a decision to Gennady Golovkin back in March of 2017. His last four opponents Sergei Derevyanchenko, Maciej Sulecki, Luis Arias and Gennady Golovkin had a combined record of 92-0.
His opponent Canelo scored a third round stoppage over WBA World super middleweight champion Rocky Fielding this past December at New York’s Madison Square Garden, just across the river from Jacobs hometown of Brooklyn.
“He is a great guy, an extremely humble guy and I have nothing bad to say about him. He is a very talented guy that is consistent. Canelo is a real good counter puncher and those are the traces were looking for in this fight,” Jacobs said about Canelo. “Canelo hasn’t fought guys bigger than me, that can punch and move like I do. I think he has challenges come May 4th,” Jacobs added.
Coming into this fight, Jacobs has mentioned that he is not concerned with the judges but was defensive when asked by media about the judges. Jacobs dropped a decision to Gennady Golovkin back in 2017 when he came in as the B-side vs. Golovkin. In this fight Jacobs will also come in as the B-side as history has shown, it’s tough to win a decision in Vegas, if you’re the B-side.
“I hate the fact that we’re talking about the judges. It should be fair and the fight should be given to the best man in the ring,” Jacobs said about the judges. “We don’t know what style I will have but I’m gonna want to fight every round and win the round convincingly. I have to win decisively so that there is no controversy,” Jacobs added.
One thing that Jacobs and Canelo have in common is that they both fought close competitive fights against Golovkin. Canelo and Golovkin fought to a draw back in September of 2017 and in the rematch Canelo squeaked out a decision this past September.
“I learned a lot in that fight against Golovkin. I came up short but it was a true learning experience and I will carry that over for this fight,” Jacobs on his fight with Golovkin.
When asked about the two Canelo Golovkin fights, “I thought the first fight was a unanimous decision for Golovkin and the second fight was a split decision or draw for Golovkin.”
Jacobs will look to unify his IBF title against Canelo as Alvarez holds the WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine title to determine the best middleweight in boxing.
“I truly in my heart. I really think I can beat Canelo. I’m coming with intentions to win, not just to be part of this event,”
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