DANIEL JACOBS

Vital Statistics:

Age: 22
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Weight class: Middleweight/super middleweight
Height / reach: 6-1 / 74 inches
Amateur record: 137-7
Turned pro: 2007
Pro record: 14-0, 13 knockouts
Trainer: Andre Rozier
Manager: Al Haymon
Promoter: Free agent (but has a close working relationship with Golden Boy Promotions)

Best night of pro career: Knocked out Tyrone Watson in one round on the non-televised undercard of the Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins fight in Atlantic City last October. Watson, a solid fighter from Pittsburgh, entered the bout with a 7-1 record and a reputation for giving prospects a hard night. Watson took Fernando Guerrero, an undefeated pro (9-0) and an amateur peer of Jacobs, the eight-round distance in a loss before facing Jacobs. Watson also registered wins over Stephan Pryor (10-2) and Dyah Davis (9-0), however the 28-year-old spoiler was dominated by the speed, power and body punching of the then-21-year-old Jacobs, who dropped the older man with a right hand before putting him down for the referee’s 10 count with a left hook to the body.

Worst night of pro career: In his only distance bout to date, on the undercard of the Shane Mosley-Ricardo Mayorga fight last September, Jacobs struggled in spots with Emmanuel Gonzalez, a former amateur standout from Puerto Rico who was coming off back-to-back losses (including a second-round knockout by junior middleweight prospect Alfred Angulo). Jacobs dominated the first two rounds of the bout and dropped Gonzalez in the third round, but the lanky Puerto Rican survived and finished the round strong. Gonzalez was able to force a winded (or perhaps momentarily leery) Jacobs to the ropes in the fourth round and even landed a few clean punches. However, Jacobs stormed back in rounds five and six, dropping Gonzalez again in the fifth.

Next fight: Faces Nicaraguan journeyman Jose Varela (23-5, 16 knockouts) in the eight-round co-featured bout on this week’s ESPN2-televised “Friday Night Fights” card from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Varela enters the bout with a three-fight losing streak, but the 31-year-old vet is vastly more experienced against superior opposition. Varela has gone the 10-round distance with Edison Miranda and Richar Gutierrez in losing bouts.

Why he’s a prospect: Jacobs is perhaps the decade’s most highly-touted amateur boxer from New York, where he won four city Golden Gloves titles. He won numerous national titles as well, including the Junior Olympics (2003), PAL (2004) and the U.S. Championships and Golden Gloves titles at welterweight (2004) and middleweight (2005 and 2006). However, despite his extensive amateur background, the tall and athletic middleweight has an aggressive boxer-puncher style that is suited for the professional ranks. Jacobs is a fast and fluid puncher who lets his hands go in flashy, but hard-and-accurate combinations that often include one or two body shots. He possesses good balance and technique and prefers to stalk his opponents rather than wait and counter.

Why he’s a suspect: Despite his decorated amateur background, advanced skills and obvious physical tools, the quality of his opposition has not progressed as fast as many fans and media expect for a prospect of his talent and activity (he’s had 14 bouts in only 16 months as a pro). The C-level opposition leads some observers to question how good Jacobs truly is. Also, the “offensive machine” mentality Jacobs brings to the ring has some drawbacks as he often appears too eager to hurt his opponents in the early rounds of his fights, leaving himself open while neglecting his jab and head movement. Like all young pros, the quality of his chin has yet to be proven.

Story lines: Raised in a household of women — his mother, Yvette Jacobs; his grandmother, Cordelia Jacobs; and his aunts — Jacobs avoided the many pitfalls of Brownsville (the tough Brooklyn neighborhood that spawned Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe and Shannon Briggs) to emerge as one of the nation’s top amateurs while still in high school. Jacobs fell short of his Olympic expectations when he lost to amateur rival Shawn Estrada in the Olympic Trials. However, missing out on the 2008 Olympic Games has given Jacobs (14-0, 13 KOs) a significant professional head start over Olympians Estrada and Matt Korobov, both of whom are currently 4-0.

Fight-by-fight record

2007
Dec. 8th Jose Hurtado TKO 1

2008
Jan. 25th Hector Lopez KO 1
Feb. 16th Alex Volkov TKO 2
March 22 Matt Palmer TKO 1
April 10th Leshon Sims TKO 4
May 3rd Jose Pena TKO 1
July 4th Julio Perez TKO 1
July 22nd Sergio Rios KO 1
Sept. 13th Ramon Espinoza TKO 1
Sept. 27th Emmanuel Gonzalez UD 6
Oct. 18th Tyrone Watson KO 1
Nov. 11th Jimmy Campbell TKO 3
Dec. 6th Victor Lares TKO 2

2009
Feb. 28th Jose Cruz KO 1

Homepage photo of Jacobs by Craig Bennett/FightWireImages.com

Doug Ficher can be reached at [email protected]