Danny Jacobs: There’s no one in the middleweight division that can honestly beat me

By Arvin Nundloll

The Miracle Man, Danny Jacobs, returns to the ring fresh of his first PPV appearance against Gennady Golovkin. Jacobs faces another undefeated fighter in Luis Arias and took time out to break down why he believes that he’s only become a better fighter since GGG and has no one to fear in the division.

Photo: Emily Harney

Jacobs believes that although he lost on paper, he won new fans, pushed GGG out of his comfort zone and edged him out in the eyes of many who have watched the fight.I was underestimated by a lot of the boxing world I think with the GGG fight, even being arguably was one of the biggest underdogs that he’s faced and being the one to actually take him 12 rounds, backing him up and doing all the things I was doing inside the ring to gain his respect. That wasn’t the typical Triple G that you guys are used to seeing and I think that is what gained me the fans respect despite how people may view the fight. From what I’ve seen people view the fight 50-50, some people felt like he won and some people felt like I won but at the end of the day I feel like we ultimately won as we put ourselves on the map.

For me it wasn’t really a loss, I truly deep down in my heart feel like I won, despite what the judges may have scored it. I was content with my performance, yeah you can go back and say there are certain things that you would do differently, everybody can do that, everybody including the winners can go back and say I could do this differently or that differently but for me I didn’t have my head down at all.

I just knew that this guy they created to be the boogey man, this guy that they created to be the most feared boxing pound for pound guy in the world, I was the one who neutralized him to just the jab and he was the one who on numerous occasions knocking out everybody and outscoring guys with power shots. I was the one who came out with more power shots than the both of us.

At the end of the day, my talents spoke that night, we’ve got a new wave of fans, a new wave of respect in the boxing community and this is just a new chapter for me but it was disguised in the loss. I have to take it gracefully and continue to move forward as I know my future is bright.

When asked about the impact of another defeat, albeit close, Jacobs reminded us all that his mentality and motivation couldn’t be stronger and that he can’t take Arias for granted.

Like I said before, the world hadn’t really got a chance to see who I was yet and that’s the reason why I was going in as such an underdog but now that I’ve proved myself as who I am and what I have to offer inside that ring each and every time I go in the ring I have the mental edge that I’m the best, knowing that I belong. There’s no one in the middleweight division that can honestly beat me and that’s how I feel. That’s the edge and mentality that I have and that gives you somewhat of an edge when you go inside that ring.

My mentally is different now, I’ve been around this game long enough to know that upsets can happen, it only takes one punch. If you allow a guy to get confident and you allow a guy to get into a rhythm anything is possible. But me knowing that is why I take this guy 100% seriously. It also gives me great confidence that I am no one he’s ever faced before and the pressure is more so on him than anything.

He could be the no-name guy that slips through the cracks if I let him but I have a strong mentality to not let that happen.

With his switch from Showtime to HBO, Jacobs was able to share some insight into the harsh reality of the sport and of a boxer, where it’s easy to lose everything due to lack of planning.

Boxing is a career and it’s the way we make a living for ourselves and we want to make sure that each and every time you go in the ring we have to be comfortable putting our lives on the line for a certain amount of money or attention for a certain amount of attention and package. I’m blessed to have the package that I have with HBO and Matchroom boxing, they’re looking to invest in me and this is a new chapter.

It’s one of the best deals that I could ask for in this point of my career.

We put our lives on the line each and every time and what the boxing fans don’t understand about the business side is that it’s so complex and it’s not an organization such as the NBA or NFL where there is said contracts to the public and takes care of that whole industry. Boxers in a sense fend for themselves, they don’t have a right-hand man or lawyer or someone that is trustworthy. I mean we can go back to the history of boxing, to the bad promotions and bad managers who dip inside the fighter’s purse while the fighter is putting his life on the line each and every time he goes in the ring whereas the promoters and managers take most of the cut. People don’t understand that about the boxing side, what they have to understand is that with the deals being done and the moves I’m making is that I’m in such a great position because I’m putting my life on the line and is the one that’s taking the risks. I’m being backed by a promotion and a network and the recipe is there.

Jacobs also clarified that Al Haymon, his longtime advisor, is going nowhere.

Al is my advisor and he will continue to be my advisor.

Jermall Charlo has been vocal in goading Jacobs and asking to fight the best. Jacobs sees the fight as an eventual outcome but reminds Charlo that you have to fight the best in the division before calling him out.

I think that me being in a position that I am, he understands that he has to go through a certain quality of fighters to get through to be considered the best and I’m not sure if he’s taken the right approach to it. He’s saying things that I’m moving to HBO to avoid him or a lot of other fighters in the middleweight division are avoiding him but he just came up to the middleweight division, has had one fight, and is considering himself the best? Its absurd to me but I realize that I’m doing something right because at the end of the day when you reach a certain level you have all these different guys calling you out and saying certain things as they want to be in your position.

Jermall Charlo, I’m definitely on his radar and he’s on mine but he can’t go around saying he’s the best unless he fights someone. If he wants a taste of this, he’ll definitely see it in the near future for sure.

Jacobs also relished the prospect of going abroad to showcase his talent and skills, something that he’s wanted to for a long time.

If I had it my way I’d fight all over the world, people love boxing and fight fans are passionate to see their favorite fighters up close and personal. I would love to travel to the UK one day or to Japan because I get support from people all over the world.

With the upcoming Saunders vs Lemieux fight, Jacobs wouldn’t mind taking on the winner and make a statement in the middleweight division.

It’s a great competitive fight, I think it being in Montreal says a lot and that BJ Saunders is willing to step outside of his comfort zone to the backyard of someone else. They’re huge fans (in Montreal) and I’m going to be in the crowd because like I said I want to fight some of the best middleweights in the world and hopefully I can get the winner of that fight. I think BJ Saunders might edge him but David Lemieux has that knockout power so it’s really on who’s in better shape and has the best mentality that night.

Jacobs also loves the idea of a matchup between himself and Ryota Murata as it’d fulfill his desire to go abroad and showcase his talent to fight fans all over the world.

He’s a great guy and great champion. He fights for his country and have tons of respect for anybody who steps inside the ring. Like I said, I just want to be able to spread the love everywhere and it’s been a dream of mine to fight not only in the United States but other countries because they love what we do for a living. To see different faces, cultures and backgrounds in the crowd every time I fight, that would be an amazing experience.

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Danny Jacobs returns on November to fight undefeated Luis Arias. Watch Jacobs vs. Arias on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HBO World Championship Boxing.