The long-discussed Daniel Jacobs-Gabe Rosado fight has been trash-talked into existence.
BoxingScene.com has learned that Jacobs and Rosado have agreed to terms for a super middleweight match November 27 at a site to be announced. An official announcement is imminent for Jacobs-Rosado, which will headline a card DAZN will stream in the United States and United Kingdom.
DAZN executives proposed southpaw John Ryder as an opponent for Jacobs because they’re preparing to launch their streaming service in the UK, but the two sides settled on Rosado. Philadelphia’s Rosado has campaigned for a fight against Jacobs since they both boxed on a card December 20 in Phoenix.
Rosado was on standby to box Jacobs before Jacobs beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. that night because Jacobs and his handlers weren’t convinced that Chavez would go through with that fight. Mexico’s Chavez came in 4¾ pounds over their contracted limit of 168, but Jacobs went through with their main event anyway.
Jacobs stopped Chavez (51-5-1, 33 KOs, 1 NC) after five rounds, despite Chavez’s weight advantage. The enigmatic Chavez had some success, but he declined to continue following the fifth round.
Rosado settled for out-pointing Mexican veteran Humberto Gutierrez Ochoa (33-9-2, 22 KOs) in the 10-round, walk-out bout after Jacobs beat Chavez. Talking Stick Arena, home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, was essentially empty when Rosado out-boxed Ochoa on his way to winning a unanimous decision.
Now, however, Rosado has secured a chance to beat Jacobs in their own main event. Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs), a former IBF and WBA middleweight champ, will be heavily favored to defeat Rosado (25-12-1, 14 KOs, 1 NC), who is 2-3-1 in his past six fights.
Jacobs, 33, and Rosado, 34, each have fought at the super middleweight limit just once.
London’s Ryder, meanwhile, wants to face a top opponent after testing Callum Smith in his last fight, a domestic matchup last November 23 in Smith’s hometown of Liverpool. The 30-year-old Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) won comfortably on all three scorecards (117-111, 116-112, 116-112), but Smith’s unanimous-decision win was widely considered controversial.
The 32-year-old Ryder (28-5, 16 KOs) was the mandatory challenger for Smith’s WBA “super” 168-pound championship.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.