Former two-time middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs believes a win over Shane Mosley Jr. this Saturday night will lead to him getting a title shot at 168. Jacobs vs. Mosley Jr. will meet in a 10-round fight at the Toyota Center in Anaheim, California. C
Canelo Rematch on Jacobs’ Mind?
Although the 37-year-old Jacobs (37-4, 30 KOs) isn’t spelling out who he expects to fight at super middleweight for a world title, only one champion holds all the belts, and that’s Canelo Alvarez.
In other words, Jacobs wants a rematch with Canelo, who he lost to by a twelve-round unanimous decision on May 4, 2019. Jacobs made millions from the fight with Canelo, and he’s only fought three times since.
Jacobs’ Fading Relevance
It’s been four years since Jacobs last won a fight against journeyman Gabriel Rosado by a twelve-round split decision on November 27, 2020. That’s a long time between victories, and the younger fans don’t know who Jacobs is at this point in his career.
Mosley Jr. (21-4, 12 KOs) isn’t ranked in the top 15 by any of the four sanctioning bodies at super middleweight. Jacobs won’t receive a high ranking by any sanctioning bodies for beating the 33-year-old Mosley Jr. Jacobs needs to be realistic about what a victory over Mosley Jr. will achieve, which is nothing.
Moreover, Canelo isn’t going to pick out an older fighter like the 37-year-old Jacobs to give him a voluntary title shot because it won’t sell. Jacobs has been out of the loop for too many years, and he hasn’t beaten a high-level opponent since he squeaked by Sergiy Derevyanchenko by a twelve-round split decision on October 27, 2018.
That might as well have been during the Mesozoic Era of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago because the younger boxing fans have never heard of Jacobs, and his fight against Mosley Jr. won’t be seen.
“Coming back against a young, hungry up-and-coming future champion,” said Jacobs about Shane Mosley Jr. “He’s had a long winning streak, looked very impressive against Gabe Rosado, so if I can go in there and look really good, maybe even get a knockout, it’ll put me right back into that position because my ultimate goal is to be a champion in another division but a three-time overall.”
Fast Track to a Title Shot?
Well, if Jacobs is needy for a world title shot against Canelo, he needs to take the fast track by calling out David Benavidez, Christian Mbilli, David Morrell, Diego Pacheco or Caleb Plant.
If Jacobs beats one of those guys, he’ll get a high ranking and be better positioned to ask Canelo to give him a rematch. However, the odds of Jacobs even being competitive with those fighters are slim. Jacobs lost his last fight against John Ryder by a 12-round split decision two years ago on February 12, 2022.
Even if Jacobs does get high rankings, Canelo likely will ignore him because he won’t be popular, and a fight between them won’t sell. Again, Jacobs has been out of the ring for too many years, and he won’t be able to make up for lost time.