Canelo Alvarez Wins Unanimous Decision Over Daniel Jacobs
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KOs) defended his unified middleweight championship against IBF middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs (35-3, 29 KOs) in a title unification match at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
This was Alvarez's first fight since he earned a third-round stoppage against Rocky Fielding on Dec. 15. Jacobs hadn't been in the ring since picking up a split decision victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Oct. 27.
On Saturday before the fight, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reported Jacobs failed the secondary weigh-in in which he was supposed to come in under the 170-pound rehydration limit. Jacobs weighed 173.6 pounds and will be fined around $1 million ($250,000 for each pound over the limit), but the fight still went on.
In the aftermath of the match, you can read up on Canelo and Jacobs as well as predictions leading up to the fight.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs Round-By-Round Analysis
First Round
Neither fighter was too aggressive out the gates. They both made the other move around the ring the times they did get active with their punches, but neither really let their hands fly much to pick a definitive winner. But Alvarez did land the hardest shot of the round.
SI unofficial scoring: Alvarez wins round one 10-9.
Second Round
Alvarez landed a handful of body shots this round and was the aggressor for most of it. Jacobs had a great combo to the body late in the round but didn't appear to land a shot as strong as Alvarez's best punches.
SI unofficial scoring: Alvarez wins round two 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 20-18.
Third Round
Jacobs had his moments this round and did a better job keeping Alvarez on edge in the back half. Alvarez landed some big shots to start the round, but faded late and allowed Jacobs to get into a groove.
SI unofficial scoring: Jacobs wins round three 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 29-28.
Fourth Round
Jacobs started off strong and the two went back and forth to start the round. In the second half of the round, Alvarez showed off his defense and landed some powerful shots to Jacobs's head.
SI unofficial scoring: Alvarez wins round four 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 39-37.
Fifth Round
Alvarez looked comfortable all round, displaying his defensive acumen and showcasing some great head movement. He wasn't as active a puncher as he could have been, but he kept Jacobs off balance. Jacobs swung, but he couldn't connect.
SI unofficial scoring: Alvarez wins round five 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 49-46.
Sixth Round
Jacobs experimented with his Southpaw stance a bit more heavily this round. It helped him stay the aggressor for most of it, but he couldn't fully put the pressure on Alvarez, who still landed a big shot late in the round.
SI unofficial scoring: Alvarez wins round six 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 59-55.
Seventh Round
Jacobs maintained the aggression he displayed in the sixth and put together another respectable round as he tried to punch his way back into the fight. Still, Alvarez didn't looked faze and had control, but this was Jacobs's best round and he did enough to win it.
SI unofficial scoring: Jacobs wins round seven 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 68-65.
Eighth Round
Jacobs stayed in an orthodox stance for this round after two straight primarily leading with his right. Alvarez regained complete control of the match, but what Jacobs did in the last two rounds to pull closer wasn't totally lost over the last three minutes.
SI unofficial scoring: Alvarez wins round eight 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 78-74.
Ninth Round
Jacobs landed his best punch of the night, but Alvarez still dictated the pace. It appeared Jacobs was going to make Alvarez work these last few rounds, but it was Canelo's fight to lose.
SI unofficial scoring: Alvarez wins round nine 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 88-83.
10th Round
Jacobs came out strong to start the round and landed some big shots. Alvarez looked much more bothered than he did in previous rounds as Jacobs let his hands fly a little bit more.
SI unofficial scoring: Jacobs wins round 10 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 97-93.
11th Round
Jacobs came out in the Southpaw stance once more and was able to land a good combo to Canelo's body early on. Alvarez looked like he was gaining the advantage to close the round through his defense, but Jacobs was able to maintain his aggression and close out the round strong.
SI unofficial scoring: Jacobs wins round 11 10-9. Alvarez leads the fight 106-103.
12th Round
Jacobs came out swinging but ended up on the ground when he slipped while throwing a right hand. He and Alvarez then went tit-for-tat to close out the final round, with each landing some combinations. In the end, Alvarez looked to have a bit more gas left in the tank and had just a little more to give in the final round.
SI unofficial scoring: Alvarez wins round 12 10-9. Alvarez wins the fight 116-112.
Official Scoring:
Alvarez won by unanimous decision (115-113, 115-113, 116-112) to defeat Jacobs and add the IBF middleweight title to his unified middleweight championship.
Punches Landed/Thrown:
Alvarez: 188/466 (40.3%)
Jacobs: 131/649 (20.2%)
Undercard Results
Lamont Roach Jr. vs. Jonathan Oquendo
Roach (19-0-1, 7 KOs)won by unanimous decision (97-92, 97-92, 96-93) over Oquendo (30-6, 19 KOs) to earn the WBO International and WBO NABO super featherweight titles.
Joseph Diaz vs. Freddy Fonseca
Diaz (29-1, 15 KOs) earned a seventh-round TKO over Fonseca (26-3-1, 17 KOs) to win WBC gold super featherweight title.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Mauricio Herrera
Ortiz (13-0, 13 KOs) earned a third-round knockout over Herrera (24-9, 7 KOs) to win welterweight match.
