Fast Results from London Where John Ryder Controversially Upsets Daniel Jacobs

Matchroom Boxing was at the historic Alexandra Palace in North London tonight with an 8-bout card topped by a super middleweight 12-rounder between Brooklyn native Daniel Jacobs and London’s John Ryder. Jacobs, a former two-time world middleweight title-holder and veteran of nine world title fights, now fighting at 168, was a consensus 8/5 favorite.

Jacobs had faster hands and was the slicker boxer and was comfortably ahead at the midpoint, but Ryder, a southpaw, came on strong in rounds 7, 8, and 9 and edged it out although he tired late. One of the judges had it 115-113 for the American, but he was out-voted by his counterparts who each gave it to Ryder by identical 115-113 scores. All three judges gave the final round to Ryder or the fight would have ended in a draw.

The inspirational Jacobs, who returned to the ring after overcoming osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, hence his nickname, “Miracle Man,” was coming off an uninspired split decision over Philadelphia warhorse Gabriel Rosado. That prompted him to reunite with his longtime trainer Andre Rozier with whom he had split after his loss to Canelo Alvarez. But the re-addition of Rozier didn’t marginally improve his performance although this was a debatable decision. This bout was marred by excessive clinching, most of which was initiated by Jacobs, 35, whose record declined to 37-4.

John Ryder, nicknamed Gorilla, had previously come up short when moving up in class, losing 12-round unanimous decisions to Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith, both of whom were then undefeated. Many people thought he deserved the nod over Smith when they fought on Smith’s turf in Liverpool.

With the victory, Ryder (31-5, 17 KOs) presumably intruded himself into the Canelo Alvarez conversation. Before the fight, there was talk the winner may fight David Morrell or Demetrius Andrade if Andrade is willing to move up to 168.

Other Bouts

Heavyweight Johnny Fisher, the 22-year-old ““Romford Bull,” was extended the distance for the first time in his young pro career, advancing to 5-0 with a 6-round decision over 37-year-old Spaniard Gabriel Enguema (10-12). The ref gave Fisher five of the six rounds.

Fisher, who was cut over his left eye in the opening frame from an accidental clash of heads, is very much a work in progress, but was boosted into the semi-windup because he has a cult following. His dad purportedly went door-to-door and sold 2,000 tickets. Enguema has now lost eight of his last 10.

In a 10-round middleweight clash, Felix Cash (15-0, 10 KOs) overcame two knockdowns and a point deduction for excessive holding to keep his perfect record intact at the expense of Russian invader Magomed Madiev (15-1-2). A 15/1 favorite, Cash was floored by a left hook in round two and floored again in the final stanza, the result of a left-right combination that had him holding on and forcing the point deduction.

Take away those two rounds and Cash, 28, a member of the boxing’s burgeoning Traveler community, had the fight under control. He was named the winner by scores of 94-93 and 95-92 twice. Cash, who previously held the British and commonwealth title, is targeting European middleweight belt-holder Matteo Signani for his next fight.

Austin “Ammo” Williams, a 25-year-old Houston-based southpaw making his second appearance in London, improved to 10-0 (8) with a sixth-round TKO of Javier Francisco Maciel (35-16) in a middleweight contest slated for eight. A 37-year-old Argentine, Maciel had lost nine straight coming in but had been stopped only twice previously.

In a bantamweight match that wasn’t part of the DAZN stream, Hopey Price, a 21-year-old Irish Traveler from Leeds, stopped Ricardo Roman (14-13-3) in the fourth round. This was an impressive showing for Price (7-0, 3 KOs) as Roman had been in the ring with several of the top fighters in his weight class in Mexico.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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