After Canelo’s Win Saturday, Will There Be A Canelo-Golovkin 3 In September?
By Cassandra Cousineau
LVSportsBiz.com
As if it weren’t already indelibly clear, Saul Canelo Alvarez is at the top of the boxing food chain. The $365 million man, thanks to a media rights deal, did something no other Mexican fighter has ever done: hold three different titles around his waist after winning by unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs before an announced attendance of 20,203 at T-Mobile Arena Saturday night.
“Nobody in Mexico has ever won all four belts in one division,” he said during the Grand Arrivals. “That’s my motivation, to keep writing history and win those titles.”
“It was just what we thought because of the style of fight that he brings but we just did our job,” Alvarez said. “We knew he was going to be a difficult fighter but thank God we did things the right way.”
Jacobs had a slow start. Too slow. Heading into the sixth, Canelo was already ahead on the cards of Dave Moretti, Glenn Feldman, and Steve Weisfeld, the official judges of the contest. Jacobs’ best punch of the night came in the 9th, when a left hand popped Alvarez’s head and allowed Jacobs to close the round with a flurry. Jacobs (35-3, 29 KOs) had trouble with the slick timing and much improved defense of Alvarez, and landed just 25 percent of his punches.
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma cancer in his spine, in 2011, Jacobs is one of the most remarkable comeback stories in boxing. Dubbed “The Miracle Man,” after beating the odds to walk let alone box again. The Brooklyn native had to surrender his IBF middleweight title in just the third loss of his career.
The 32-year-old, who is always a class act, was humble in defeat.
“I asked my son, “Did daddy do a good job?” He told me “Dad you did a great job. That’s all that matters to me. I got the short end of the stick, but to my fans, to all my survivors out there who appreciate me and my story, for what I represent, I thank you. The journey is not over. I continue to strive for success and be the best I can be.”
Although Alvarez looked winded entering the championship rounds, those 180 sparring rounds he endured during training, left him with enough in the tank to stay competitive. The 28-year-old now holds the WBA (Super), WBC, and The Ring and lineal middleweight straps and has his eyes on the last remaining middleweight belt, held by World Boxing Organization champion, Demetrius Andrade. That fight could perhaps be made over a trilogy with Gennady Golovkin for September of this year. Alvarez has an 11-fight, five-year, $365 million deal with streaming service DAZN, the richest media deal in boxing history.
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