I'm not against this fight at all as the more titles unified the better and short of Golovkin, only WBO champion Demetrius Andrade and maybe the still untested Jermall Charlo, Jacobs doesn't rank behind anyone else in the division, so he's deserving of this fight.
Still, I've always thought that Jacobs has been overrated in building a reputation off a better than expected effort (although in no way, shape, or form did he win that fight, no matter the dimwits that cling to that notion) against Golovkin, a one round KO of an equally overrated Peter Quillin and an interesting back story and what few (not all ) have ignored is how Jacobs hasn't looked very good in his three fights after his loss to Golovkin.
Jacobs has looked a little worn against Luis Arias, Maciej Sulecki, and Sergey Dereyvancenko, the latter in which he would have received a draw on the card, if not for an early flash knockdown.
As for Canelo, even though I thought he lost both fights to Golovkin, he is rounding into his prime and his very sturdy chin takes away the one chance that Jacobs might have-throwing a right hand and taking his opponent out.
This fight looks closer on paper than it will be in the ring and even though Jacobs might have some moments, I think Canelo wears Jacobs down and either will win a clear decision or takes Jacobs out in the second half of the fight.
The undercard is pretty weak with the usual Joseph Diaz appearance among others and as a result, there is only one other challenge fight with undefeated welterweight Vergil Ortiz tackling former contender Mauricio Herrera.
Herrera has fought a laundry list of top fighters in the 140 and 147-pound divisions but has lost four of his last seven fights and looked spent in his last outing, a lopsided decision loss to Sadam Ali.
Those combined factors make Herrera perfect as the next step for a young fighter approaching contention.
Over at ESPN, Top Rank has two world titles on the line with the IBF light heavyweight title of Artur Beterbiev being defended against Radajvoje Kalajdzic.
Top Rank reported that they didn't really want this date against the DAZN card, but Beterbiev's new contract with the company required a fight before his observation of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, which begins on Sunday.
Beterbiev walked through the always aggressive Callum Johnson in his first title defense but was knocked down by Johnson, who is a hard hitter himself.
Kalajdzic has done little of note, except arguably the most controversial decision in the "time buy" era of PBC, where he scored a knockdown over former Olympian and current top contender Marcus Browne, had a knockdown scored against him when he clearly slipped and outboxed Browne over eight rounds and deserved a breakout upset win.
What Kalajdzic received in return was a split decision loss and he has fought no one of note since, making the Browne fight really the only point of reference for Kalajdzic.
Kalajdzic is taller, younger and has some kick to his punch, although I would think not to the point of Beterbiev.
The track record for Beterbiev has been this- he hits, he hurts, he finishes and one would think the same happens here against Kalajdzic. but I can't get past Kalajdzic's effort against Marcus Browne.
Kalajdzic is a very live underdog here and considering his physical advantages if Kalajdzic can repeat that performance, an upset is very possible.
The co-feature is in the junior bantamweight division as IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas defends his belt against Ryuichi Funai of Japan.
Funai is the mandatory contender for Ancajas, but has seven losses in his career, has never fought outside of Japan and only his upset KO of Victor Olivo in his last fight qualifies him for a world title challenge.
On paper and only on paper because I've never seen Funai fight, this looks like a mismatch to me and a chance for Ancajas to redeem himself for a surprising draw against Alejandro Santiago. (I scored Santiago a close 115-113 victor) in his last defense in September.
In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 108-95.
Unification WBA/WBC-IBF Middleweight Titles. 12 Rds
Canelo Alvarez vs Daniel Jacobs
R.L: Alvarez Split Decision
TRS: Alvarez Unanimous Decision
Welterweights. 10 Rds
Vergil Ortiz vs Mauricio Herrera
Both: Ortiz Unanimous Decision
IBF Light Heavyweight Title. 12 Rds
Artur Beterbiev vs Radislav Kalajdzic
R.L: Beterbiev KO 4
TRS: Beterbiev KO 5
IBF Junior Bantamweight Title. 12 Rds
Jerwin Ancajas vs Ryuichi Funai
R.L: Ancajas Unanimous Decision
TRS: Ancajas KO 8
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