Since he won the vacant WBA (regular) middleweight title in August 2014, Daniel Jacobs has been regarded as one of the premier 160-pound fighters in the world. He has gone 6-2 in championship fights, his only losses a narrow decision to Gennadiy Golovkin in March 2017 and to Canelo Alvarez in May.
But continuously making 160 pounds started to take its toll on the 32-year-old. He's been regarded as one of the biggest guys in the division and needed to cut significant weight for each bout. It came to a head when Jacobs lost to Alvarez. He knew something had to give. After stepping back to think about his career, Jacobs decided it was time to move up in weight.
Jacobs (35-3, 29 KOs) embarks on his new journey Friday when he makes his super middleweight debut live on DAZN against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.
"When I fought for middleweight championships, and when I campaigned at middleweight for the last two years, you guys don’t understand the amount of damage I’ve been putting on my body trying to make the weight," Jacobs said at Tuesday's news conference. "Now, I have an opportunity to be able to carry over those skills, be hydrated and be 100 percent and allow those skills from the gym that the team sees and allow the world an opportunity to see that."
This weekend's fight was in severe doubt before recent legal updates. Chavez had been issued an indefinite suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failing to submit to a random drug test in October, but Chavez (51-3-1, 33 KOs) sued the NSAC and on Tuesday was granted a temporary restraining order from a Nevada State Court judge. The ruling clears him to compete in Arizona. The bout was initially scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Jacobs was relieved he would be able to get his hands on Chavez and show the super middleweight division that a new player is on the block. The division is led by WBA (super) champion Callum Smith, WBO titlist Billy Joe Saunders, IBF titleholder Caleb Plant and WBC champion David Benavidez.
"I want to thank Chavez for accepting this fight," Jacobs said. "I want to thank his lawyer for doing such a great job for allowing this fight to happen. This is going to be a great opportunity for me. I’m stepping up to (super) middleweight division. I feel like this is the perfect weight for me. I’m only two pounds away from 168.
"I’m extremely excited for this new opportunity. The super middleweight division is full of great competition. I look forward to this test come Friday night."