by Cliff Rold

It might not be the biggest fight they ever air but Saturday’s main event is the sort of fight the 9-figure DAZN acquisition of Saul Alvarez’s services was all about.

It’s pretty simple: a year ago, Alvarez-Jacobs is on pay-per-view for at least seventy dollars. Tomorrow, this middleweight championship contest is available for a lot less with the idea of getting subscribers to sign up for the long haul.

Will it work? If anyone can make it work on the current US fight scene, it’s Alvarez. That he’s in a fight (DAZN, 9 PM EST) with a Jacobs who is a very real threat makes this an easy can’t miss for most regular fight fans. Time will tell if the mainstream add DAZN to their app list next to Twitter and Dots.

Only hours remain until a damn good fight for supremacy at 160 lbs.

Let’s get into it.

Stats and Stakes

Saul Alvarez

Age: 28

Title: Lineal World Middleweight (2015-Present, 3 Defenses); TBRB/Ring/WBC/WBA Middleweight (2018-Present)

Previous Titles: WBC Super Welterweight (2011-13, 6 Defenses); WBA/Ring Jr. Middleweight (2013); WBC Middleweight (2015-16, 1 Defense); TBRB Middleweight (2015-17); WBO Jr. Middleweight (2016-17); Ring World Middleweight (2015-18, 2 Defenses); WBA super middleweight (Sub-title, 2018)

Height: 5’8

Weight: 159 ½ lbs.

Stance: Orthodox

Hails from: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Record: 51-1-2, 35 KO?

Record in Major Title Fights: 11-1-1, 6 KO (12-1-1, 7 KO including WBA sub-title fights)

Last Five Opponents: 175-3-3 (.975)

Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: Miguel Vazquez SD4, UD10; Carlos Baldomir KO6; Lovemore N’dou UD12; Kermit Cintron TKO5; Shane Mosley UD12; Austin Trout UD12; Floyd Mayweather L12; Erislandy Lara SD12; Miguel Cotto UD12; Amir Khan KO6; Liam Smith KO9; Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. UD12; Gennady Golovkin D12, MD12

Vs.

Daniel Jacobs

Age: 32

Title: IBF Middleweight (2018, 1stAttempted Defense)

Previous Titles: WBA middleweight (sub-title; 2014-17, 4 Defenses)

Height: 5’11 ½

Weight: 159 ¾ lbs.

Stance: Orthodox

Hails from: Brooklyn, New York

Record: 35-2, 29 KO, 1 KOBY

Press Rankings: #2 (TBRB, Ring), #3 (ESPN, BoxRec, Boxing Monthly)

Record in Major Title Fights: 1-2, 1 KOBY (6-2, 5 KO, 1 KOBY including WBA sub-title fights)

Last Five Opponents: 120-4-2 (.960)

Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: Ishe Smith UD10; Dmitry Pirog TKO by 5; Caleb Truax TKO12; Sergio Mora TKO2; Peter Quillin TKO1; Sergio Mora TKO7; Gennady Golovkin L12

The Case for Alvarez: This could be a close fight and close favors Alvarez. He’s the star, he’s the draw, and on more than one occasion he’s come out of fights with at least one scorecard so head scratching in his favor that it feeds the worst perceptions of the sport. Put that aside and look at who he’s running close against; it’s clear how good a fighter he has to be in the first place. Outside a one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather, Alvarez has been nip/tuck with Trout, Golovkin, and Lara. In the second Golovkin fight, he improved on his first performance and took the fight to a dangerous puncher. He’s got guts, quick hands, underrated boxing ability, head movement, timing, and power to the head and body. It’s been years since Alvarez has been seriously hurt in a fight to make it harder on foes. It’s hard to find any one single thing Alvarez does great; instead, he’s just a complete fighter in the heart of his prime who has fully grown into his place as boxing’s biggest money draw. That’s a recipe for victory.

The Case for Jacobs: Jacobs is taller and longer than Alvarez. If he can use that length to establish the jab early, Jacobs will make his job easier. Jacobs is a serious puncher and just because Golovkin never got Alvarez in dire trouble doesn’t mean Jacobs can’t. A blinding jab can set up big right hands that will be raining down on Alvarez. Jacobs has to be disciplined inside. His chin has been less reliable than Alvarez’s and if he’s caught at close quarters with something he doesn’t see, Jacobs could find himself in big trouble. Alvarez may be a hair quicker than him and it will add to the danger in exchanges.

The Pick: Jacobs appears dialed in for this one and he should be. At 32, this is the biggest, best chance of his career. He came up a little short against Golovkin; here he can do what Golovkin couldn’t and capture history’s middleweight crown while unifying three of the four major titles in the division. It will be a tall order. Alvarez is fighting with a chip on his shoulder and a new level of confidence in his last two fights. He’s seen every style as a professional and been in big fights before. Jacobs might be the bigger one shot puncher at middleweight but Alvarez lands with more consistent impact and catches better. That will matter in the second half of what could be a real gem. The pick is Alvarez by stoppage. 

Additional Weekend Picks

Jerwin Ancajas TKO Ryuichi Funai

Artur Beterbiev TKO Radivoje Kalajdzic

Rold Picks 2019: 23-9 (including Estrada-Sor Rungvisai and Roman-Doheny)

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com