All the bad blood between Daniel Jacobs and Gabriel Rosado didn't translate into any fireworks whatsoever.
Yet, "The Miracle Man" edged Rosado by a split decision Friday night at the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida and live on DAZN. Judges scored it 115-113, 115-113 and 113-115 to give Jacobs the narrow victory in what was a low-action, uneventful middleweight affair in which neither fighter showed real urgency. What was expected to perhaps turn into a firefight played out more like a slow, overly patient chess match, which Jacobs ultimately won, but not in an impressive manner at all.
"I still feel like there's more to me that hasn't been yet seen, but this wasn't a valiant effort from myself," Jacobs told DAZN's Chris Mannix following the victory, as he apologized to his fans for his showing. "It felt kind of dry (without fans in attendance). It just felt a little weird. It felt like a boxing, sparring match inside the gym. I didn't give my best effort, but my effort was enough to get the victory."
Banking early rounds behind some pointed bodywork from Jacobs helped propel him toward the victory, although the middle to late rounds were much too close for Jacobs' liking, as he let Rosado hang around and win rounds as the more active fighter. At the end of the bout, ring announcer Jeremiah Gallegos accidentally announced the winner "from Philadelphia," before quickly correcting it to "Brooklyn" and Jacobs. That added to Rosado's dejection, as he felt like he did enough to win the fight.
"Yo! I felt I won the fight," Rosado told Mannix. "I surprised him. I outboxed him, I out-jabbed him, I countered him, I made him miss big shots."
More than anything, Jacobs lacked urgency, as he never really picked up his level of aggression enough to land a fight-changing punch in an uninspired effort. Jacobs and Rosado each landed 78 punches, with the combined 156 blows being the second fewest for landed punches in a 12-round fight in 2020, according to CompuBox .
Here's how the entire Jacobs vs. Rosado main card went.
Jacobs vs. Rosado fight card
- Daniel Jacobs def. Gabriel Rosado by split decision (115-113, 115-113, 113-115); Super Middleweight
- Daniyar Yeleussinov def. Julius Indongo via second-round TKO; Welterweight
- Nikita Ababiy def. Brandon Maddox by unanimous decision (59-55, 59-55, 59-55); Middleweight
- Mahammadrasul Majidov def. Sahret Delgado via third-round TKO; Heavyweight
- Emmanuel Tagoe def. Mason Menard by majority decision (98-92, 96-94, 95-95); Lightweight