Mexican superstar adds IBF title to his WBA 'Super' and WBC belts
Sunday 5 May 2019 13:02, UK
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez secured a unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs to win their middleweight unification clash at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The Mexican, three-weight champion, added the IBF title to his WBA 'Super' and WBC belts after claiming victory with scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 116-112.
It's just what we thought, we knew he [Jacobs] was going to be a difficult fighter.
Canelo started on the front foot in a cagey opener and sent Jacobs to the ropes with a body shot, while the American replied with a combination and switched briefly from orthodox to southpaw.
Jacobs started pumping out his jab in the second and tried to dictate the pace but Canelo again targeted the body.
Canelo continued to stalk his man in the third and began to target his opponent's head with speculative hooks before shrugging off the American's jab in the next and landing a heavy right followed by an uppercut.
Jacobs continued to fight on the back foot in the fifth and angered Canelo by landing a punch after the bell before stepping up his work rate in the next.
A furious body assault at the start of the seventh saw Jacobs forced to hold but he responded with a hook before landing a combination.
Both men traded shots at close range in the eighth round, prompting roars from the crowd, and Jacobs managed for the first time in the fight to force Canelo backwards at the end of the round.
Jacobs landed a crisp left at the start of the ninth. Canelo responded with right-hand leads but had his chin tested by a heavy hook and took it well.
The New Yorker continued to work his way back into the fight in the 10th but Canelo responded in the penultimate with some decent single shots.
Jacobs slipped to the floor at the start of the final round and after the action resumed, he tried to catch the eyes of the judges but Canelo continued to land the cleaner shots to claim his 52nd victory in 55 contests.
