In a test for Danny Jacobs, the former middleweight champion fought JC Chavez Jr. in a super middleweight bout. Chavez (51-3-1) is a good fighter and real test for Jacobs who is making his debut at the 168 pound limit. To Jacobs credit, he decided to keep the fight on after Chavez came in heavy. Jacobs was more on the defense in the first round and used his movement to offset Chavez’s aggression. As the fight went on, Chavez slowed, maybe due to the broken nose, and Jacobs pot shotted and landed the heavier and more telling blows. This fight would end in the 5th round when Chavez called it a day due to the broken nose, say what you want, a shattered nose will make you do just that and also his inability to breathe wouldn’t let him recuperate between rounds. Jacobs was, in my opinion, on his way to a decision win because even though Jacobs did land those telling shots, he was never in any serious trouble.

Chavez is a durable fighter that went 12 rounds with Sergio Martinez when Martinez was at the top of his game. Martinez, a true middleweight, hit Chavez with everything and couldn’t get him out there. For Jacobs, who I believe clearly drew with Canelo Alvarez, his game plan for this weight class should be more of something he is well equipped to do, that’s to fight smart and set traps. Jacobs is by far one of the smartest fighters in the game today, if not the smartest. When it comes to Ring IQ, he is the Einstein of the boxing world and he is going to need every bit of that IQ because that weight class is loaded with big punchers and granite chinned beasts. You have Benavidez, probably the best at 168, Smith, the English version of Canelo Alvarez, Canelo Alvarez, pound for pound challenger along with Crawford at 147, and Saunders, an undefeated fighter that can make anyone look bad and Caleb Plant, the quick handed American champion that has a lot of passion for the sport. It is not an easy weight class to dominate but he definitely can do it, if he keeps his wits and uses his best asset, his boxing IQ.