By Keith Idec

LAS VEGAS – Daniel Jacobs just laughed when the preposterous proposition was posed to him.

Jacobs’ apprehension about what could happen if he and Alvarez go to the scorecards is the byproduct of at least one judge’s scoring in four Alvarez fights in Las Vegas since September 2013. The results of Alvarez’s last two fights – a split draw with Gennadiy Golovkin in September 2017 and a majority-decision victory over Golovkin in their rematch a year later – caused controversy.

In July 2014, Alvarez won a debatable split decision against Erislandy Lara in a 12-rounder. The previous September, judge C.J. Ross somehow scored Alvarez’s obvious loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. a draw (114-114).

The 28-year-old Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) hasn’t lost since Mayweather beat him in September 2013 – at least not officially. Those three subsequent close calls aside, the Mexican icon has evolved into one of the top fighters, pound-for-pound, in the sport.

Alvarez also has become boxing’s biggest star in the United States. His superstar status inspires conspiracy theorists to suspect something below board is taking place each time a judge gives Alvarez the benefit of the doubt in a completely competitive fight.

Jacobs believes Golovkin beat Alvarez twice, yet he also is confident the judges will get it right Saturday night.

“I’m very comfortable with the judges that we have, so there’s no controversy with that,” Jacobs said this week at MGM Grand. “I’m happy with the referee that we have [Tony Weeks]. So, for me, it’s really ultimately up to me to go inside the ring and do my job. And all that I asked for is a fair shake. With everyone talking and bringing up the judges, and things of that nature, I’ve always said and agreed that, yeah, Canelo does sometimes get favoritism in Vegas. But all I ever wanted was just a clean shot, and to face one of the best and prove that I’m the best. And I think that we’ve got that with the panel [of judges].”

The Nevada State Athletic Commission assigned three of boxing’s best judges – Connecticut’s Glenn Feldman, Nevada’s Dave Moretti and New Jersey’s Steve Weisfeld – to score Alvarez-Jacobs at T-Mobile Arena.

They just so happen to be the same three judges that scored the Alvarez-Golovkin rematch. Moretti and Weisfeld both scored the Alvarez-Golovkin rematch 115-113 for Alvarez, whereas Feldman scored it a draw (114-114).

Moretti scored their first fight 115-113 for Golovkin. It was the inexplicable scorecard submitted that night by Adalaide Byrd – 118-110 for Alvarez – that’s imbedded in the minds of fight fans forever.

Those two controversial conclusions make it more imperative than ever that the judges get it right Saturday night. If Alvarez-Jacobs goes 12 rounds, the NSAC needs the deserved victor, whether it’s Alvarez or Jacobs, to be declared the winner.

The numbers need to add up for DAZN on Saturday night just as much as the judges’ math must be correct for the NSAC.

Alvarez-Jacobs is the first pay-per-view-level event that the well-funded streaming service will offer since its official launch in the United States seven months ago. It’s the most meaningful boxing match of the year to date, the second bout of Alvarez’s five-year, 11-fight deal that could become worth $365 million and exactly the type of high-profile fight DAZN Group executive chairman John Skipper hopes gains and retains the number of subscribers required to justify such an extravagant expense.

Multiple sources have confirmed to BoxingScene.com that Alvarez, the WBA/WBC middleweight champ, and Jacobs, the IBF 160-pound champ, will be paid somewhere between $45 and $48 million combined for their title unification fight. That’s by far the most DAZN has shelled out for a single fight since its launch.

The great news for fans is that it’ll cost far less to watch it – $8.33 for one month of a $100 yearly subscription or $19.99 for only one month – than required for a typical pay-per-view show ($70-$85 in HD). That’s what makes subscription retention extremely important to DAZN’s ambitious business model in the boxing market if this streaming service is to remain viable in the long term.

“It’s a significant event for our business,” Joe Markowski, executive vice president for DAZN North America, told BoxingScene.com. “We came into the market just under a year ago and made some pretty bold, pretty hefty statements about our intentions in North America. We knew that we needed to, because let’s face it, there’s a lot of noise in sport and entertainment. There’s a lot of distractions, other things for American sports fans to think about. And we needed to make sure that our flag was firmly in the ground, and that people knew what we were trying to do. I think it’s fair to say that not everyone backed us to be able to do it.

“But I think fights like this, and this is probably the biggest we’ve done so far, are a testament to our ability to deliver on those statements and ultimately stay true to the commitment we made to fight fans and sports fans – which was we’re gonna continue to deliver you great fights, in a far more friendly model, on a far more flexible basis, in a far better way, in simple terms. And this is us doing that. So yeah, it’s a huge moment for us, a big moment for the continued growth of our U.S. business and we’re excited about that. We’re in a good place going into the weekend.”

No one outside of DAZN can state with any certainty just how many U.S. subscribers DAZN has accumulated since it officially entered the American market September 22. Nielsen Media Research doesn’t track streaming services, nor does any other independent auditor.

That makes it difficult to assess just how much traction DAZN has gained in the U.S. by streaming almost exclusively boxing and mixed martial arts. Based on what Skipper stated during a press conference March 11 to announce Golovkin’s addition to DAZN, they’re counting on Alvarez-Jacobs and comparable fights to significantly increase subscriptions at a rapid rate.

“I will be at a 10, but I don’t know when exactly,” Skipper said in reference to how satisfied he was with subscriptions, on a scale of 1 to 10. “But I will be at a 10. We have had good success and one landmark event, and that’s the Canelo fight [against Rocky Fielding on December 15].

“I expect to have four to five landmark events this year and to move from my current three or four [level of satisfaction]. Which means I’m satisfied with where I need to be towards knowing what we need to accomplish in the long run, and that’s when I’ll be at a 10.”

If Alvarez wins Saturday night, he likely will fight Golovkin a third time later this year, perhaps as soon as September. The subscriptions Skipper expects to generate from that fight made DAZN sign the 37-year-old Golovkin to a six-fight contract, which includes what is believed to be a $14.5 million purse for his bout with unknown underdog Steve Rolls on June 8 at Madison Square Garden.

Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) could destroy that Alvarez-Golovkin game plan by pulling off an upset Saturday night. However their fight unfolds, if it goes the distance Jacobs just wants the judges’ scores to accurately reflect what occurs in the ring.

Whomever wins, DAZN needs its own extremely important math to make sense Saturday night, too.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.