By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – The mutually respectful buildup toward their middleweight title fight ended Friday afternoon once Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs made weight.
Alvarez and Jacobs came together once they met their contractual obligations and their foreheads touched. Alvarez appeared to move forward as they stood forehead-to-forehead, which made Jacobs attempt to push back with his head.
Then members of their respective camps held them back as Alvarez and Jacobs screamed and pointed at one another. Brooklyn’s Jacobs, known for his humility and class, clearly was annoyed by the exchange with Mexico’s Alvarez on a stage at T-Mobile Arena.
“Emotions is flying high,” Jacobs told DAZN’s Ak & Barak following the skirmish. “I ain’t never backed down from a challenge in my life. I’m from Brownsville. I never ran and I never will.”
Jacobs stood alongside his son, Nate, who held his IBF middleweight championship belt.
“Everything that I do is for my family,” Jacobs said. “Everything that I do is for Brooklyn and for the culture. We about to put on for the city. Bet that!”
The 32-year-old Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) will make a career-high, eight-figure purse for facing the 28-year-old Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs), who owns the WBA and WBC middleweight titles.
“Listen, this is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Jacobs said. “I feel like I’m the best middleweight in the world. And that motherf*cker right there, he gonna get it tomorrow! Watch that sh*t! Bet that! Let’s go!”
When asked if he had a final message for Alvarez, who stood across the stage from him, Jacobs replied, “Let’s do this Saturday night, period. All this weigh-in, bumping me with that big-ass head, it’s time to put on. I’m gonna talk with my fists tomorrow.”
DAZN will stream Alvarez-Jacobs as the main event Saturday night from T-Mobile Arena (7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
