De La Hoya: Canelo-Jacobs Can Play Out Like Chavez-Taylor

By Miguel Rivera

In New York City on Wednesday afternoon at the Hard Rock Cafe, a multi-city press tour kicked off announcing the huge champion vs. champion unification fight between WBC, WBA middleweight titlist Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2) and IBF middleweight titlist Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (35-2) on Cinco De Mayo weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Canelo drops back to 160-pounds after moving up to super middleweight in December to secure a third round knockout of Rocky Fielding for the WBA "regular" world title - which he still owns.

Jacobs has been a real hot streak, since losing a close twelve round decision to Gennady Golovkin in March 2017.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Canelo, views the contest as a very dangerous fight.

He feels the contest is going to be even more dangerous than Canelo's two ring wars with Golovkin.

"First it's a dangerous fight, a fight that can be complicated for Canelo because Jacobs is not just a great champion. What Jacobs has is strength, physically he is strong, but mentally, spiritually it's going to be very difficult to beat him because, if you do not already know, a few years ago Jacobs knocked out cancer, he had cancer, and obviously he survived. He's stronger than ever mentally Jacobs is saying to me nobody is going to beat me because I beat cancer, the fight is going to be strong," De La Hoya told ESPN Deportes.

"If Canelo wins and is crowned the absolute champion at middleweight, that will place him among the best four or three (fighters) in Mexico, of all time, and the beauty of Canelo is that he is young, he has a long way to go. He is 28 years old, for me if he continues on this path, Canelo can be one of the best ever in Mexico.

"Daniel has more technical [than Golovkin], he knows how to box, he knows how to move laterally, move his head, throw quick combinations, Golovkin was strong, yes, but he did not have the speed like Jacobs, for me this fight can develop like Julio César Chávez with Meldrick Taylor: Canelo is strong, he has to follow him, press him, hit the body and Jacobs' game plan will be to throw combinations and move laterally."