By Jake Donovan
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs have never missed weight for a 160-pound title fight, yet for whatever reason size continues to matter according to those assessing their May 4 title unification bout in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With the World Boxing Council (WBC) among the slew of belts at stake, both boxers are subject to 30-day, 14-day and 7-day pre-fight weight safety checks. The increments are in place as a guideline for the sanctioning body to ensure that its participants are safely shedding weight ahead of their scheduled fight.
At the 30-day mark, athletes are required to weigh no more than 10% above their contracted fight limit. With the May 4 DAZN headliner at T-Mobile Arena taking place in the 160 pound division, both boxers were required to weigh 176 pounds or less.
Alvarez easily hit the mark, weighing 168.2 pounds—already almost within the 7-day 5% tolerable limit. Meanwhile, Jacobs (35-2, 29KOs) came just under the 10% mark, checking in at 175.4 pounds at the 30-day point.
It was only 0.6 pounds more than what the Brooklyn native and two-time middleweight titlist weighed at a similar point for his March ’17 title fight versus then-unified champ Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin.
Of course, one element of that bout—in which Jacobs dropped a close and somewhat disputed 12-round decision—was his refusal to participate in the morning-of weigh-in, where participants can’t weigh any more than 10 pounds above the contracted weight limit. That stipulation came from the International Boxing Federation (IBF) which is no longer in place for unification bouts.
Ironically, it’s also the title Jacobs currently owns through a 12-round win over Sergey Derevyanchnko last October, a fight for which he easily made weight and participated in the morning-of weigh-in where he was within the tolerable rehydration limit.
Somehow, his weight in present time has suddenly become a point of concern to some, although his upcoming opponent isn’t among that group.
“I don’t think anything of it,” Alvarez (51-1-2, 35KOs) said of Jacobs’ current weight while discussing their upcoming fight during a recent media conference call. “Losing weight is a part of the sport. It’s a sacrifice we all have to make and every fighter is different in how they go about it.
“Some lose it right away, some lose it gradually, some cut weight towards the end. I don’t put any thought into Jacobs’ weight right now. Every fighter is different.”
As light as Alvarez is 30 days out, he was even lighter at the same point heading into last September’s rematch with Golovkin. The 29-year old from Mexico checked in at 167.4 pounds a month out from his 12-round majority decision win, yet another middleweight fight for which he easily made the divisional limit.
“Making weight is always part of the game, a necessary sacrifice,” Alvarez notes of the general process. “We’re working hard and the weight is continuing to come off.”
Alvarez returns to the middleweight division after a brief pit stop at super middleweight, when he claimed a secondary title in a 3rd round knockout of Rocky Fielding last December. He also weighed 164 pounds for a shutout win over countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in their May ’17 catchweight, preceding his pair of bouts with Golovkin.
Jacobs has consistently weighed between 159.5–159.75 pounds for each of his past 10 starts dating back to his first title win in Aug. ’14.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
