By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Luis Arias hasn’t fought anyone nearly as good as Daniel Jacobs and he’ll box in just his second televised fight when they square off November 11.
None of those factors have at all affected the unbeaten middleweight’s confidence. Arias told BoxingScene.com before a press conference Tuesday in Manhattan that Jacobs “is in trouble” in their HBO “World Championship Boxing” main event at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
“It’s no secret,” Arias said. “They’re obviously bringing me here on the ‘B’ side. Everything is about Jacobs. But if you do your homework, you’ll realize Jacobs is in trouble.
“He’s been dropped a lot, he’s been been knocked out, he’s been down, he’s been beat. He hasn’t really been fighting anyone and he’s been very inactive. This is a very, very tough fight for Jacobs, and I suggest that everyone go and do their homework. I was a top amateur, I’m hungry, I’m undefeated and I’m the champion coming into this fight. So I’m looking forward to November 11th.”
The press conference Tuesday was as much about officially announcing Jacobs’ recently completed, multi-fight agreements with HBO Sports and Matchroom Boxing USA, Jacobs’ new promoter, as his upcoming fight. Arias took notice of his perceived subservient role in their 10-round fight.
“Since they mentioned Jacobs to me, I’ve been thinking about knocking him out,” Arias said. “I go online and they’re talking about him fighting [David] Lemieux or a rematch with Triple-G. Y’all tripping! He still has to fight me November 11th, and this is not gonna be an easy fight for him. So it’s all good. It’s more fuel to the fire, and when it gets done November 11th, it’ll be a lot sweeter for me.”
The 27-year-old Arias, a Milwaukee native who trains in South Florida, has grown used to getting overlooked. He can’t wait to change that next month by upsetting Brooklyn’s Jacobs, who’ll fight for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) on March 18 at Madison Square Garden.
“They’ve been sleeping on me my whole career,” Arias said. “I’m 18, 19 fights in right now, and this is only my second televised fight. I mean, come on, that’s crazy. I was a top amateur, I’m bilingual. I’ve got superstar written all over me. But I just have to deal with the ins and outs of the game, so I’m forced to be in this type of position. But at the end of the day, it’s great opportunity. It’s a very winnable fight for me and I plan on shocking the world November 11th.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
