March 28, 2024

Middleweight like Heavyweight once was a division that was getting a little stagnant but in a few years Golovkin is not the feared monster he once was, and with the introduction of DAZN and the joining of Canelo 160 pounds is finally a division that boxing fans can get behind for some top quality matchups.

Like it once was at 154 however it seems to be a division filled with talent rather than money makers. If Canelo was to say fight anyone of: Danny Jacobs, either of the Charlos or Demitrus Andrade the fights would be split right down the middle in terms of the winner, but there would be no doubt at all who the A side would be in negotiations.

Hopefully DAZN does what it should then and build these fighters and get these matchups because after Andrade put himself right back on the map last weekend against Walter Kautondokwa, if Jacobs performs well this Saturday it really could build something down the line.

Danny Jacobs 34 (29 KOs)-2 (1 KO)-0 finds himself in an unusual position of being the favourite in a relatively big fight, previously having fought Peter Quillin and of course Golovkin, Jacobs shocked the boxing public both times getting a first round victory against Quillin and a razor thin loss against Golovkin. Jacobs showed both times that he is about as versatile fighter as they come, with very few flaws, fighting on the backfoot while being able to hold his ground and go toe to toe against Golovkin, there doesn’t seem to be a blueprint to beat Jacobs with Jacobs even willing to go southpaw on occasion to further confuse things. When watching him, he seems to have a very efficient style but with an uncharacteristic narrow stance Jacobs can sometimes to appear a little clunky on his feet, but his ability to catch punches on arms and gloves is underrated and he does like to throw mean hooks to the body in the clinches, just if you didn’t already know that Jacobs is far from a slickster with no plan B.

This is in contrast with his former sparring partner and next opponent Sergiy Derevyanchenko 12 (10 KOs)-0-0 who does live up to his nickname “the technician” looking extremely well schooled as you’d expect from a Ukrainian amateur but his record shows that he can punch a bit. Derevyanchenko seems to like to resort to this type of amateur style especially in the beginnings on the fight, using his lead arm to stiff arm his opponents to hold the range or hooking and pivoting out, he does this a lot, but as he warms up he can fight on the inside to some degree. Standing at 5 foot 9 you’d expect that this is the sort of range that Derevyanchenko would favour, but similar to Billy Joe Saunders Derevyanchenko is best at range using his footwork to find openings. From watching him fight his main shortcoming seems to be his physical strength, and against an athletic big 160 pounder like Jacobs I think this is where the fight could get interesting.

Though Jacobs will have a very big height advantage, we’ve seen in the Suleki fight that Jacobs can be outboxed at least in the early goings, and unless he decides to impose himself from the get go I don’t see Jacobs sweeping the early rounds. I see Derevyanchenko winning the rounds and Jacobs slowly walking him down catching shots on the arms and gloves and almost mauling Derevyanchenko on the inside. Saying this, being former sparring partners it’s doubtful that they’ll be much of a feeling out process, so there could be fireworks early from either side.

If I were pushed for a prediction I’d say Jacobs by unanimous decision after picking up most of the mid to late rounds as Derevyanchenko fades, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Derevyanchenko is no slouch, so if Jacobs is indeed to made to look a bit crude it is Derevyanchenko’s talent not merely Jacobs being sloppy.

It would be nice to see “The Miracle Man” finally win a real world title mostly for his insane story of beating bone cancer but also just because he deserves it with some of the performances he’s put out, and if he does win on Saturday night as I predict he will though he is 31 already he’ll have plenty more big fights to look forward to in his future.

On the undercard Alberto Machado 20 (16 KOs)-0-0 faces Cleveland’s Yuandale Evans 20 (14 KOs)-1 (1 KO)-0 for the regular WBA Super- Featherweight title.

Tickets, priced from $46, $66, $106, $206 and $356 (ringside), are available at Ticketmaster.com. The Jacobs vs. Derevyanchenko event is promoted by Matchroom Boxing and DiBella Entertainment in association with Fight Promotions Inc., Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions.