By Miguel Rivera
IBF middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs is oozing with confidence, ahead of his scheduled unification with WBC, WBA middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
Their highly anticipated fight is scheduled to take place on May 4, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo moved up to the super middleweight division back in December, and easily trashed Rocky Fielding in three rounds to capture the WBA "regular" world title.
Their share a common opponent in former world champion Gennady Golovkin.
Golovkin won a close twelve round decision over Jacobs in the early part of 2017. Later that year, Canelo and Golovkin fought to a controversial twelve round split draw. In their 2018 rematch, Canelo walked away with a close twelve round majority decision over the feared puncher.
Jacobs has won three fights since that loss to Golovkin, and all three of his wins have been over undefeated fighters - like Luis Arias, Maciej Sulecki, and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
But the next fight, says Jacobs, will be the moment that defines his career.
"I think this is my defining moment. I think a victory over Canelo Alvarez will assure me my legacy, that I've always wanted - to be the best in my division and to be a future Hall of Famer," Jacobs told ESPN Deportes.
And who will the fight play out? Jacobs could see himself winning by decision or even by knockout. He believes the end result will depend a lot on Canelo.
"I think the outcome is going to come down to which Canelo Alvarez shows up that night. Regardless of that, I still feel like I'm the better man and at the end of the night I still see my hand being raised - but I don't know if it's by knockout or by decision. But I do see me winning the fight," Jacobs said.