Daniel Jacobs Continues His “Miracle”

By Rich Mancuso/ Sports Editor

Daniel Jacobs does not make it look easy and Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn Maciej Sulecki made the former WBA champion work to get a unanimous decision. He becomes the mandatory challenger for the title held by Gennady Golovkin the unified champion and for Jacobs, who lost a controversial decision to Golovkin a year ago, more work would have to be done to overtake who many claim is a top three in that class as best pound-for-pound.

Basically, Jacobs “The Miracle Man” of boxing as the known cancer survivor and world class fighter, has accomplished the good guy in sports award for his efforts in and out of the ring. And despite what those in the crowd of 7,000 or so said at the Barclays Center, that Jacobs landed the better shots, he still is no match for Golovkin.

There was defense, and that transition to offense against his opponent from Warsaw Poland, and Jacobs got the unanimous decision in a close fight that on this scorecard could have been decided with a Jacobs 12th round that sent his opponent to the canvas.

Was this a classic fight? By all means not a memorable one, and getting an epic fight in the ring from Daniel Jacobs on this night will not compare to some of the epic bouts that have been seen the past year at the Barclays Center.  It was not Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia last year, a fight still in discussion.

It was not a recent heavyweight clash in the Barclays Center ring with Deontay Wilder and Luis “King Kong” Ortiz for the heavyweight championship.  Jacobs continued his Miracle with a WBA title eliminator, and for the second straight fight had to go the 12-round route and leave a decision in hands of the judges at ringside, and in most situations those judges are known as “Three Blind Mice.”

However Daniel Jacobs, or Danny, as he is also called, is a good ambassador for the sport. The fight to continue and overcoming a fight with cancer, that is enough to root for this hometown hero from Brooklyn who is now property of Matchbox Boxing USA and Eddie Hearn, the promoter from England of heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua

There is little to question about his skills. There are hardly no mistakes the “Miracle Man” can do in the ring, Jacobs has some old school style and can dish out a punch, go to the body and connect when he has to. And there is the charisma that boxing and the fans admire.

But this is not a fighter that offers excitement and can sell out an arena as was seen Saturday night in Brooklyn, his home borough.

He said in the ring after this latest win, “Well ultimately we want the guys with the belts,” If not Golovkin, depending on his outcome this Saturday night, there will be opportunity with any of the top three middleweights in a division that has gained as much attention as the elite fighters in the 147-pound weight class.

Jacobs said, he is the King of Brooklyn and the best of them all that fight at Barclays Center from the borough that has recently produced an array of good fighters in the sport.  He called out Jermall Charlo as a potential and next opponent. And there is Demetrius Andrade, a good puncher and not as good an ambassador as Daniel Jacobs.

Maciej Sulecki, was that relative unknown fighter Saturday night.  It won’t be that way if and when Danny Jacobs meets Gennady Golovkin again. And if Daniel Jacobs  again wants that claim to be Number 1 in the middleweight division there has to be that knockout.

For this night “The Miracle Man” did it again. Next time could be more interesting.

Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com  Twitter@Ring786  Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso

PHOTO CREDIT: YANG LUCIANO/ NYMINDSET

 

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