Unified middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is set to make his 2019 debut when he defends the WBA and WBC middleweight championships against IBF titlist Daniel Jacobs in a title unification bout May 4 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 28-year-old Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) is unbeaten in his last nine fights (9-0-1) since suffering the only blemish on his record to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013. After two brutal wars with Gennady Golovkin, Alvarez moved up to super middleweight in December and plowed through Rocky Fielding in three rounds to capture the WBA belt and become a three-division world champion.
Meanwhile, Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) has rebounded in a big way after he lost the WBA title to Gennady Golovkin in March 2017 - a very narrow decision that many boxing pundits felt the "Miracle Man" won. He's won three straight bouts, with the highlight of defeating Sergiy Derevyanchenko by split decision in October to win the IBF title.
The sentiment is that Jacobs, 32, will be one of the stiffest tests of Alvarez's career, which is saying something, considering the Mexican star has been inside the ring two times with Golovkin and Mayweather.
"This fight is important because it will feature two world champions who will unify their titles to demonstrate who is the best at 160 pounds," said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, Alvarez's promoter.
"I want to be remembered as one the greats in boxing, and that's why I continue to work hard and continue taking on these type of fights, so I can continue writing history," Alvarez said through an interpreter.
Jacobs, whose mere presence in boxing is unexpected given that he nearly died from a rare form of bone cancer in 2011, won a vacant title by split decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in October and is now getting the fight he has wanted.
"For a long, long time since we signed Daniel Jacobs [in 2017], he has told me three special words: 'Bring me Canelo.' And on [Saturday], he finally has the chance," Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said.
