It was the most anticipated fight of the first half year in boxing and we all hoped it would live up to those high expectations.
It did, if you are heavy-duty Canelo fan, because the Mexican boxed smartly and was the better ring general versus Danny Jacobs, who may well have campaigned for the last time at middleweight.
The fight itself was most appreciated by those Canelo boosters; how many of our NYF squad-ers are aligned with that mindset, at least when asked to pick the one hitter who most impressed them this weekend?
NYF Squad, who did it? Who won the weekend?
Said John Gatling: “I'm looking at Vergil Ortiz Jr (13-0, 13KOs) and I'm thinking, ‘Ok, so this is the Golden Boy answer to Errol Spence Jr?' Long, rangy and utterly destructive with a killer's instinct, VOJ may have won the future on Saturday night. I know I instantly thought of the past. When he blasted Mauricio Herrera with that right hand, it was like I was Pipino Cuevas getting hit by Thomas Hearns. Just give him the damn weekend.”
“Canelo won the weekend,” said Kelsey McCarson. “He looked exceptional through the first six rounds where he built up a big lead. He put it in cruise control after that, but how many guys can go into cruise control mode against a fighter as big and dangerous as Danny Jacobs? Alvarez is a great fighter in his prime , and he picks opponents like he's not afraid to lose. Love that.”
“I'm in the “Vergil Ortiz I guess” camp,” said David Phillips. “Mauricio Herrera is a bit like a guy in a bar who's been overserved now, but he's still never taken an early L. Ortiz is one accurate, hard-punching sonofagun. But can I say who definitely LOST the weekend? I'll just go ahead and do that. Brian Kenny was fucking dreadful. Overpraising Canelo's unremarkable performance like it was the second coming. Talking like the rounds weren't even close and as if Canelo won them all. I've seen this nonsense when he talks baseball. All he cares about are stats and sabremetrics. To hell with your own eyes. They mean nothing. I mean, why does Kenny even watch a game or a fight? Why doesn't he just look at a readout of either and then put it through a computer. Maybe he can measure the velocity of punches the way he does a ball coming off of a bat. No matter weather the punch connected or the ball landed beyond a fielder's mitt. Who cares about shit like that? Sports are played by human beings. Made of flesh and blood. Reducing every event to computer spat data makes them all bloodless. Including the bloodiest of sports.”
“Who won the weekend? That's a tough question to answer. However, I will try to answer as best as I can,” said Xavier Porter.
“1. Canelo: He not only defeated a tough opponent in Jacobs but he took one step closer towards becoming the undisputed middleweight champion. He came in much smaller, shorter, and beat the bigger man with more than his physical capabilities. Canelo beat Jacobs mentally. He again showed fight fans how great of a boxer he is; hopefully they'll begin to recognize how smart of a boxer he is too.
2. Artur Beterbiev: By defending his IBF light heavyweight championship on the same night of #CaneloJacobs, he scored one of the best wins for himself and the division. He has also continued his knockout streak (now at 14) and put the division on notice that he's the quiet storm. Fighting on ESPN under Top Rank will serve him wonders and he may get a chance to unify his title against current WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk. A unification within the light heavyweight division is a spark that's needed to grab some of the attention that's primarily focused between 147-160 and the heavyweights.
3. Anthony “Juice” Young: Who would've thought that a fighter who has been featured primarily on club shows, in Atlantic City, would've beaten a former USA Olympian and former WBO super welterweight champion in Sadam Ali, the last man to beat Terence Crawford in a boxing ring (Olympic trials). Hats off to him and his promoter Thomas LaManna (Cornflake). who himself was offered a fight against Jamie Munguia, but then had the offer taken away from him. What a way for LaManna to stick it to Golden Boy Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya, on the big stage, in Vegas, on DAZN.
4. Mauricio Herrera; I have to put him into this category as a winner simply because he can retire without any shame. After suffering such a brutal knockout at the hands of Vergil Ortiz Jr., I'd say it's time for him to ride off into the such. I thank him for all that he has given to the sport.”
Hey,
Hamza Ahmed, who won? “
Canelo is my pick. Participating in one of those paradoxical bouts where it's considered 50/50 yet paradoxically everyone picks one guy to win, the Mexican was stellar in his performance over a prime and elite level Jacobs. He was sublime for the first six rounds, outboxing Jacobs and asserting a healthy lead. But in spite of his improvements, there's still the issue of Canelo gassing in the middle rounds, and that flaw allowed Jacobs to take over the middle portion of the fight and consequently set up fairly tense championship rounds. Canelo is entering the form of his life right now where he's going to be very very, very difficult to beat. You can't knock him out. You can't get a decision over him either. And he's the house fighter Vegas and as we know, the house always wins. It does mean however that Canelo too is part of a epidemic slowly becoming rampant in boxing and that is the top guys in their divisions are becoming too good for the leading pack.”
