BoxRec

Daniel Jacobs, John Ryder Close To Completing Deal For February 12 Fight In London

Daniel Jacobs is close to securing his opportunity to redeem himself in a super middleweight fight.

Boxing Scene has confirmed that representatives for Jacobs and John Ryder have nearly completed a deal for them to meet in a 12-round super middleweight match February 12 in London. O2 Arena is among the potential venues for a main event DAZN will stream.

Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, who is part of DAZN’s broadcast team, first reported that negotiations for a Jacobs-Ryder bout were in the advanced stages.

Brooklyn’s Jacobs, who will turn 35 on February 3, hasn’t fought since he edged Gabriel Rosado by split decision in their 12-round, 168-pound bout a year ago at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Jacobs (37-3, 30 KOs) defeated Philadelphia’s Rosado (26-14-1, 15 KOs, 1 NC) on two scorecards (115-113, 115-113, 113-115), but he drew a lot of criticism for failing to engage during much of a closely contested fight Jacobs had repeatedly predicted he would win in dominant fashion.

London’s Ryder, 33, has won back-to-back bouts since the southpaw surprisingly pushed former WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith in a November 2019 fight for the belt Smith lost a year later to Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez.

Ryder (30-5, 17 KOs) stopped Slovakia’s Jozef Jurko (8-4, 6 KOs) in the fifth round of his most recent fight, which took place September 10 in Klagenfurt, Austria. In the fight after Ryder lost a unanimous decision to England’s Smith (28-1, 20 KOs), Ryder went the distance with American Mike Guy (13-7-1, 6 KOs), who lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Ryder last December 18 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Handlers for Jacobs attempted to make a bout between the former IBF middleweight champ and WBO light heavyweight champ Joe Smith Jr. before they turned their attention to the Ryder fight.

Smith (27-3, 21 KOs), of Mastic, New York, agreed last month to make an optional defense of his WBO belt against England’s Callum Johnson (20-1, 14 KOs) on January 15 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. ESPN will televise Smith-Johnson as a 12-round main event as part of its exclusive content partnership with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑17 Dec 2021, 04:23 Nearly a done deal. Would take place in London.

John “The Gorilla” Ryder, right ?
Good fight - 5 years ago this woulda been 1/33 pointless mismatch, but now ?

Still heavily favour DJ, but The Gorilla is now a very live dog. “Close but clear” as it was, we all now he beat Mundo..

It’s a good fight but I’m surprised it’s over here. Ryder doesn’t sell and Jacobs won’t be cheap.

maverick23 wrote: ↑17 Dec 2021, 05:24 It’s a good fight but I’m surprised it’s over here. Ryder doesn’t sell and Jacobs won’t be cheap.

Tbh, the fight won’t sell anywhere will it?

Will need a good undercard.

By Feb are we getting full crowds? Who knows

Ryder should have took his chances and tried to get the Morrell fight.

But this is a fight about money obviously.

Depends what Jacobs' plans are.

That fight with Rosado was an absolute stinker and actually probably the reason his best option is to come over for this fight.

Would love to see Ryder get a clear win and get himself a money fight that he has a chance in rather than being pimped out against Bivol.

garethhop wrote: ↑17 Dec 2021, 05:40 Depends what Jacobs' plans are.

That fight with Rosado was an absolute stinker and actually probably the reason his best option is to come over for this fight.

Would love to see Ryder get a clear win and get himself a money fight that he has a chance in rather than being pimped out against Bivol.

Fully agree. I really didn’t like the talk of the Bivol fight. He’s a small super middle anyway and it felt more like a box ticking exercise for Eddie to say he got him a world title shot.

Don’t know how I feel about posts for nearly done fights. Ends in too much heart break.

Good fight if it happens.

tricky fight this for john, been out so long aswell

Didn't see this matchup coming

It shows how well Ryder has raised his profile on the world scene and improved as a fighter. I didn't think he'd reach the level he has.

Good luck to John, it's a tough fight he's got on his hands

Really like this fight. I’m a bit gutted for Ryder that he hasn’t had a world title fight since been robbed against Smith but I’m glad he’s getting a big fight at home,

Daniel Jacobs, John Ryder agree to super middleweight fight on Feb. 12 in London, sources say

Daniel Jacobs and John Ryder have struck a deal for a super middleweight fight that will headline a DAZN event Feb. 12 in London, sources told ESPN Monday night, confirming an earlier report.

Jacobs, who will be 35 on fight night, will be competing at 168 pounds for the third time since he lost his 160-pound title to Canelo Alvarez in 2019. The Brooklynite's résumé also includes a close decision loss to Gennadiy Golovkin.

Jacobs (37-3, 30 KOs) is coming off a lackluster decision victory over gatekeeper Gabriel Rosado in November 2020. The cancer survivor is rated No. 5 at 168 pounds by ESPN. Jacobs is reunited with longtime trainer Andre Rozier for the bout.

Ryder (30-5, 17 KOs) dropped a controversial decision to Callum Smith in a November 2019 title fight that greatly improved his stock. The 33-year-old, a native of London, will enjoy a homecoming in his second high-profile bout. Ryder is rated No. 7 by ESPN at super middleweight.

Sports Illustrated first reported the news of the match.

I like this. Interesting style-wise.

Jacobs has looked shaky before, even though you couldn’t call him fragile. Ryder fairly solid, and I think the bigger man at SMW.

This needs a good undercard but if there was a couple more 50/50 fights it should be good.

Will take place at the famous Darts arena

Alexandra Palace, London

this fight would seem like a total joke back some years ago, now though im quite interested

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑07 Jan 2022, 00:16 this fight would seem like a total joke back some years ago, now though im quite interested

And it’s UK prime time baby

I really like the fight - just not sure how it sells over here.

No doubt they’ll get Johnny Fisher on the undercard who’ll do 3,000 out of his hand.

I'll believe it when I actually see them in the ring together .

Daniel Jacobs-John Ryder Card To Take Place February 12 At Alexandra Palace In London

Daniel Jacobs and John Ryder will fight February 12 at a London venue famous for hosting the PDC World Darts Championships each year.

Boxing Scene has learned that London’s Ryder and Brooklyn’s Jacobs will headline a card that night at Alexandra Palace, a sports and entertainment venue better known among Brits as “Ally Pally.” BS.com first reported recently that Jacobs and Ryder would fight February 12 in London.

Brooklyn’s Jacobs will end a 14-month layoff when he encounters Ryder, a southpaw, in their 12-round super middleweight bout.

Jacobs, who will turn 35 on February 3, scored a controversial split-decision victory over Philadelphia’s Gabriel Rosado in their 12-round super middleweight match a year ago at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Jacobs (37-3, 30 KOs) beat Rosado (26-14-1, 15 KOs, 1 NC) on two scorecards (115-113, 115-113, 113-115), but he was heavily criticized for what was widely viewed as an apathetic performance by the former IBF middleweight champion.

Jacobs didn’t engage during much of a closely contested fight, despite that he and Rosado talked a lot of trash during the buildup toward it.

The 33-year-old Ryder has won back-to-back bouts since he surprisingly tested former WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith in a November 2019 fight at Echo Arena in Smith’s hometown of Liverpool, England. Ryder sought a rematch, but Smith lost that WBA belt to Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez a year later at Alamodome in San Antonio.

Most recently, Ryder (30-5, 17 KOs) stopped Slovakia’s Jozef Jurko (8-4, 6 KOs) in the fifth round September 10 in Klagenfurt, Austria. In the fight immediately after Ryder lost a 12-round unanimous decision to England’s Smith (28-1, 20 KOs), Ryder went the distance with Mike Guy (13-7-1, 6 KOs), an American opponent who dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Ryder last December 18 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Proper fight this one, proper eliminator style match up.

maverick23 wrote: ↑07 Jan 2022, 04:59 I really like the fight - just not sure how it sells over here.

No doubt they’ll get Johnny Fisher on the undercard who’ll do 3,000 out of his hand.

Or 1200, or 1500, depending on who you ask.

Interesting venue. Does this mean the crowd will be going in fancy dress and holding up signs?
The last couple of fights I seem to remember at the Ally Pally was Bellew v Miranda and David Walker v Karmizan.

milpool wrote: ↑07 Jan 2022, 12:27 Interesting venue. Does this mean the crowd will be going in fancy dress and holding up signs?
The last couple of fights I seem to remember at the Ally Pally was Bellew v Miranda and David Walker v Karmizan.

Previous uses.

https://boxrec.com/en/venue/28862

Capacity
800 (Panorama Room)
1,750 (East Hall/Ice Rink)
2,000 (Palm Court)
2,500 (West Hall)
10,250 (Great Hall)
900 (seated)/1300 (seated/standing) (Theatre)

They probably use Great Hall