Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs middleweight title unification announced for May 4th on DAZN

Bloodyelbow.com

Canelo Alvarez’s next fight is set for Cinco de Mayo weekend, and it’s a huge middleweight championship unification.

It was announced on Thursday afternoon that Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) is going to unify his WBA and WBC titles with IBF champion Daniel Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) on May 4th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The winner of this fight would hold three of the four major titles at 160 lbs, with WBO champion Demetrius Andrade as the other titleholder.

No venue was announced but Golden Boy Promotions does have a hold on the T-Mobile Arena, so this is most likely.

Canelo won a thrilling (yet debated) majority decision over Gennady Golovkin last September, ending GGG’s longstanding reign atop the division. He then signed an 11-fight, $365 million deal with DAZN, moving up to super-middleweight in December to defeat the overmatched Rocky Fielding by third-round TKO at Madison Square Garden.

“I’m happy to announce my next fight during the festive weekend of Cinco de Mayo,” said Canelo Alvarez in an official press release. “I will unify my middleweight titles against Daniel Jacobs on one of the two most important dates that belong to me. I have no doubt that I will be victorious and that I’ll be one step away from becoming the undisputed middleweight world champion. And what better way to watch it than on as tremendous a platform as DAZN.”

Jacobs won the vacant IBF title last October in a very entertaining split decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Prior to the first Canelo-Golovkin fight, GGG fought Jacobs to a close unanimous decision in a very competitive contest. The New Yorker is also an inspirational story, having survived a life-threatening form of bone cancer, which was diagnosed in 2011. He’s gone on to become one of the world’s best middleweights and now is in line for a massive payday and opportunity to unify belts with Canelo.

“This is the opportunity I have been waiting for. The opportunity to achieve greatness inside the ring,” Jacobs said. “I have always believed I can beat Canelo, and on May 4 live on DAZN, I will get my chance to play it out. It’s been nearly four years since Canelo has faced an American challenger. It’s going to be a huge event where I believe I will cement myself as the best middleweight in the division.”

Jacobs was a network free agent after beating Derevyanchenko, but he’s signed a new three-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing USA and will be a part of the DAZN platform.

This is an excellent fight and presently the highest-profile matchup on the boxing calendar from now until May, and it won’t cost $75-$85 on PPV, but instead will air on the DAZN subscription service at $10 per month in the United States, and at varying costs in other countries where DAZN is available.