Epilogue on Canelo vs Jacobs Maincard, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, May 5, 2019 on DAZN
Jab Hook thanks Alexander von der Groeben, the crew on the DAZN-Boxwerk night-shift, and all the boxing friends and fans who chose the wee hours of the morning to sample the “sweet science”. It was all in all a very good evening of boxing with twists of fate and turning tides.
Canelo won the IBF belt from Jacobs unifying it with his WBA, WBC, and Ring World Middleweight Titles.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez took the miracle out of the man and snatched a dream out of the hands of Brooklyn. Jab thinks the 1st weight cut to 160 lbs/72.6kg, plus the re-hydration clause of 170 lbs/77.1kg did half the job before the fight even began. Who can afford to dump $1,000,000 for the sake of 3.6 pounds?
Danny looked drawn and showed irritability at the weigh-in. In the fight his power, energy and hunger seemed a bit muted.
Metabolic effects were like the 4th body punch on the Mexican's combinations. Alvarez was so robust and determined, as he efficiently dealt with Danny Jacobs one round at a time. Hometown crowd, extra million this morning on the scales, life is good when you are the champ who had eggs and bacon for breakfast.
In lieu of a detailed assessment of the bout, Jab offers a global impression of the fight. Despite 4 to 5 close rounds, and though Danny also had a couple of good rounds, Canelo was in control and was ahead the whole time.
Doing little, waiting, saving energy, reacting not acting, all of those moves hurt Jacobs in the eyes of the judges. The lack of urgency reflected a need to conserve energy and offered Alvarez ample opportunity to score with activity and accuracy.
Expectations were sky high for this fight, and some letdown is not uncommon after a major event in our sport. It was a good bout with great results for Canelo. Yes, Jab wanted more and was in a Brooklyn bind as his disappointment in Danny's performance upset his fondness for the man.
Let's close that chapter by saying, just like the terminator, Danny will be back and Jab knows he has more to give. Sheepshead Bay has Brownsville's back, 100%!
Incorrect pick by Jab who backed his “Miracle Man”.
Jab will again pick Mr Jacobs' in his next bout, no matter who he fights. It's a Brooklyn thing.
§§§
Vergil Ortiz Jr is the dawn, while Mauricio Herrera is the setting sun, lights out! Only 21yo and he destroyed in less than 10 minutes a man who had never before even been on the canvas.
A boxer who had faced world champions was dropped like a Heathrow suitcase. That is how Vergil Ortiz Jr. stole the show at the T-Mobile Arena in Jab Hook's eyes. 13 fights and 13 knockouts are lucky numbers.
His new nickname is the “Texas Thunder”. This kid is a monster on wheels. So humble, so lethal, so young, so skilled, Golden Boy has found another Golden Goose! A young man with his amateur pedigree, down home attitudes, and natural power has huge potential from a boxing perspective and mega-market value. The sky's the limit.
This is exactly what boxing thrives on, and we all get to watch this amazing young man develop into a star. A large part of Vergil Ortiz Jr's potential to succeed is linked to his stable, healthy lifestyle and his family and friends. Humility breeds respect, love anchors pride, and dreams becomes a plan that just keeps coming true over and over again.
Jab Hook believes the future for Vergil Ortiz Jr will include not just belts and championships, but also unifications and world titles across weight divisions by 2030. Hook hopes that he is still alive to see it all.
Jab's predicted a left hook in the 9th round for Vergil Ortiz Jr, but the “Texas Thunder” stopped Herrera in only 3 rounds.
§§§
Joseph Diaz Jr broke Freddy Fonseca down steadily until the towel flew into the ring.
Fonseca hardly mounted any offense at all. When he did punch most shots were blocked by “Jo Jo”, and the few shots that landed had no effect on Diaz Jr. It was never a real fight, as Fonseca mostly backed up and did not seem to happy to be in the ring in Las Vegas. His 1st bout outside Central America seemed to be too much of everything, and not enough of what he needed to be a good opponent.
The rounds went by with Freddy suffering and Diaz Jr having a good performance, as he took his time and booked a few rounds. The 3rd round was punishing and Fonseca was starting to wilt already. In the break his trainer Marcos Caballero asked him twice, “How you doing?”. He slapped his face and Freddy said OK, but Freddy was lying to his coach, who did not care anyway.
In the 6th round Diaz Jr took it up a gear and swarmed Fonseca with a barrage of blows, as he hugged and slumped to his knees for the fight's only knockdown at 30 seconds remaining. After the 8 count from Kenny Bayless, Freddy survived the closing seconds and wobbled back to his corner.
Trainer Marcos Caballero asked him if he wanted to continue fighting, but when Freddy shook his head “No”, Caballero immediately tried to talk him back into it. He gave him water and Fonseca shook his head no again as the referee approached the corner. Bayless asked Freddy if he was OK, but not in Spanish. Fonseca did not respond, the trainer took over and the bout went on with a boxer who had nothing left to give.
Diaz Jr had punched himself out in the previous round, so Freddy held out a couple of minutes into the 7th round. However, in the closing minute “Jo Jo” closed the show with a series of punches that forced Fonseca's corner to finally see how pointless it was. The towel hit the canvas inviting the referee to stop it, and he mercifully did making it a TKO win for Diaz Jr.
Trash talk by Tevin Farmer at Diaz Jr's weigh-in indicates a high potential for their showdown in the summer of 2019 for Farmer's IBF junior lightweight belt. That will be a good matchup, “Joseph Diaz Jr's 3rd time as a contender, and his 3rd failure to win a belt.
Jab Hook picked “Jo Jo” Diaz Jr to win by decision in a dominant performance, and said a TKO later in the bout could come by referee intervention.
§§§
Lamont Roach Jr looked unconvincing and unprepared in a clear decision win over Jonathan Oquendo in the opening fight of the main card.
Lamont Roach Jr is still a prospect, but he has lots to learn. Ten rounds with Jonathan Oquendo proved that the veteran was too awkward and tricky for the young Lamont to deal with. He was unable to use boxing to solve the Oquendo conundrum. It was a sloppy, stinker of a 10 round mess.
Jab feels that referee Russel Mora was a bit too tolerant of Oquendo's holding, leading with his head, and other shenanigans in the clinch. It was a relief in the 8th round when the ref finally took off a point from Oquendo for using the “third fist” repeatedly. Earlier and more deductions would have also been appropriate.
Back to the gym for Golden Boy's Lamont Roach Jr. He certainly needs time and more boxing experience to ripen and prove his reputation as prospect.
Jab Hook correctly picked Lamont Roach Jr to win by unanimous decision over “Powder” Oquendo. Jab was 3 of 4 on his maincard picks.
Jab Hook's 2019 predictions: 64 of 74 correct on May 6th = 86.5% (2018: 92 of 110 correct = 83.6%, to date 156 of 184 correct = 84.8%)
"Jab Hook”, aka “Brooklyn” Joe Healy is a boxing writer, and expert commentator for DAZN.de, a professional cutman from the BOXWERK gym, and a licensed referee/judge in amateur boxing. A lifelong aficionado born in Brooklyn and living in Munich, “The Sweet Science” is his passion. Please feel free to contact him as Jab Hook on FaceBook, at [email protected], or on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoxAficionado