Hearn: Jacobs-O'Sullivan Less Likely; Jacobs-Andy Lee Possible

By Keith Idec

Daniel Jacobs might fight an Irishman on April 28, but it may not be Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan.

Eddie Hearn, Jacobs’ promoter, told IFL TV on Tuesday that it seems less likely than it once did that O’Sullivan’s handlers will agree to a deal to fight Jacobs at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Jacobs’ hometown. Hearn added, though, that Andy Lee is now a potential opponent for Jacobs in a fight HBO will televise that night.

“I hoped [Jacobs-O’Sullivan] would happen, but it doesn’t look like Spike’s side wants it,” Hearn said following a press conference for the Anthony Joshua-Joseph Parker heavyweight title unification fight. “Not Spike himself, by the way. Sorry Spike, because I know you’d fight anyone. But it’s politics, basically, which is a shame because it’s a big payday, big fight. Possibly, Andy Lee might get the opportunity as well against Danny Jacobs.”

Ireland’s O’Sullivan (27-2, 19 KOs) emerged a possible opponent for Jacobs after he scored an upset in his last fight. O’Sullivan scored a seventh-round knockout against Antoine Douglas (22-2-1, 16 KOs) in a bout HBO aired December 16 from Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, Canada.

London’s Lee (35-3-1, 24 KOs), a former WBO middleweight champion, has fought just once since England’s Billy Joe Saunders (26-0, 12 KOs) dropped him twice and beat him by majority decision in their 12-rounder to win the WBO title in December 2015. The 33-year-old Lee last fought March 18, when he defeated KeAndrae Leatherwood (20-5-1, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision in an eight-round fight on the Gennady Golovkin-Jacobs undercard at Madison Square Garden.

In his most recent fight, the 30-year-old Jacobs (33-2, 29 KOs) out-boxed Milwaukee’s Luis Arias (18-1, 9 KOs) to win a 12-round unanimous decision November 11 in Uniondale, New York. That win at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was the first fight of Jacobs’ multi-fight agreement with HBO.

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