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Jacobs To Sub For Paulie on Saturday Showtime Show

Published

10 years ago

August 13, 2014

The Sweet Science

MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION DANIEL JACOBS

TO SERVE AS SHOWTIME^®GUEST ANALYST
FOR THIS SATURDAY’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLEHEADER

First Cancer Survivor To Win A World Title Will Call Fellow Cancer Survivor
Anthony Dirrell’s Attempt To Capture A Major Boxing Belt Against Sakio Bika
Live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)

NEW YORK (Aug. 13, 2014) – One week after Daniel Jacobs became the first cancer survivor to capture a boxing world title when he knocked out Jarrod Fletcher at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on SHOWTIME^®, the new WBA Middleweight World Champion will return to the network this Saturday,Aug. 16, as a guest analyst for the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING tripleheader live on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT) from StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

Jacobs will join host Brian Kenny, blow-by-blow announcer Mauro Ranallo, Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein and reporter Jim Gray to call a three-fight telecast headlined by a potentially explosive, high-stakes welterweight showdown between undefeated IBF Welterweight World Champion Shawn Porter (24-0-1, 15 KOs), of Akron, Ohio and fellow unbeaten British star Kell Brook (32-0, 22 KOs), of Sheffield, England.

“How cool is that? Fighting one week on one coast on SHOWTIME and then announcing the fights the very next week on SHOWTIME from the other coast,’’ said Brooklyn’s Jacobs, who will fill in for two-time former world champion Paulie Malignaggi, who will sit out this week with a family obligation. “I love this. I think announcing fits me. To be able to do something like this, to be in this position, is very important to me. Other fighters have done it as well, of course, but for me to be able to follow in their footsteps is an honor. It shows that we can not only announce fights, but we can be good at it.’’

In the two other world championship fights on SHOWTIME, WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Sakio “The Scorpion” Bika (32-5-3, 21 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, will risk his 168-pound belt against unbeaten Anthony “The Dog’’ Dirrell (26-0-1, 22 KOs), of Flint, Mich., in a rematch of their wildly exciting and controversial 12-round split draw last Dec. 7, and undefeated Omar “Panterita” FigueroaJr. (23-0-1, 17 KOs), of Weslaco, Texas, will defend his WBC Lightweight World Championship against mandatory challenger Daniel“Tremendo” Estrada (32-2-1, 24 KOs), of Mexico City, Mex.

Jacobs will do his best to be impartial, but you know he’ll be rooting for the 29-year-old Dirrell, a fellow cancer survivor determined to attain a world title in his second attempt.

“I’ve known Anthony since the amateurs,’’ Jacobs, 27, said. “We’ve been friends since we were 16 or 17 years old. He had the battle first [with cancer], mine was after.’’

Anthony was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Dec. 2006 and didn’t return to the ring until Oct. 2008. Jacobs was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer that caused partial paralysis in his legs in May 2011. Miraculously, he was back fighting in Oct. 2012.

“When I had my very first charity fundraiser party Anthony attended,’’ Jacobs said. “Afterward, we both discussed it and decided that we should do this together, to inspire each other, to inspire others, especially after coming back the way we did to be in the positions that we are.

“This, for me, what Anthony and I have, is absolutely like a brotherhood, a fraternity between two guys who happen to be in the same tough sport as boxing. What we have set out to accomplish is bigger than boxing, bigger than me or him. This is for the world; to be an inspiration for people to give them hope. That’s what it’s about, just helping to lead the way to give people hope.’’

Not surprisingly Dirrell was one of the first of many to congratulate Jacobs shortly after his titanic triumph last Saturday. “We didn’t talk verbally but he contacted me, I think on Instagram or Facebook,’’ Jacobs said. “He said that I was an inspiration to him and that he was going to continue to keep the movement going once he gets the opportunity on Saturday.’’

During the post-fight conversation, Daniel also wished the best for Dirrell against Bika. “I definitely reached out and told him I would support him,’’ Jacobs (27-1, 20 KOs) said. “I wanted to let him know I was by his side and that I was planning on attending the fights on Aug. 16.

“I just didn’t know at the time when we were talking that I’d be calling them, too

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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