ACTION ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ O U T S TA N D I N G ★ ★ ★ ★ G O O D ★ ★ ★ FA I R ★ ★ D I S A P P O I N T I N G ★ RU B B I S H Re p o r t e r s ’ s t a r r a t i n g s fo r m a i n e v e n t s a n d u n d e rc a r d s a r e b a s e d o n i n - r i n g e n t e r t a i n m e n t , c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s a n d w h e t h e r o v e r a l l e x p e c t a t i o n w a s m e t
CLOSE CALL John Ryder gets the decision and a precious victory over Danny Jacobs in London
MUSWELL HILL
F E B RUA RY 1 2 ★★★★★ MAIN EVENT ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ U N D E RC A R D ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ AT M O S P H E R E
F John Dennen
@BoxingNewsJD RINGSIDE
OR John Ryder, when he edged out Danny Jacobs on a split decision at Alexandra Palace on Saturday, it was the fairy-tale victory he’d
been waiting for. The Islington fighter was the underdog against an American star and for John this was a triumph against the odds. It comes after his long road through a hard career that’s seen him lose close fights with the likes of Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith but also rack up a sequence of impressive performances
to earn a shot at a big-name opponent. That finally arrived when Jacobs came to the UK for this 12-round clash. For much of the first half of fight, Jacobs served up a reminder of his quality. After all, he’d given Gennady Golovkin plenty of problems when they fought in 2017 and had been a worthy opponent for Canelo Álvarez. In Ryder’s hometown, Jacobs seized the ascendancy from the start, moving deftly from side to side, firing swift, straight jabs into the target. Thudding crosses stopped Ryder from closing in, allowing Jacobs to take control of the first half of the contest. But he didn’t close Ryder out of the fight. Instead the English southpaw managed to cuff shots at Jacobs when they were up close. Ryder exploded to life in the seventh round, catching up to
Jacobs, hurting him when he dug stern left crosses through. The American tied him up in clinches, no longer looking to manhandle the smaller man but trying to stem John’s attacks as he pushed forward. In another miscalculation Jacobs switched southpaw time after time in the second half of the fight. If he intended it to throw Ryder off, he was mistaken. The American opened himself up to John’s attacks and Ryder seized his opportunities to land shots, his clubbing right hook effective. What had begun with Jacobs seemingly in cruise control ended as a close fight. The decision was split, two judges, Jean-Robert Laine and Mike Fitzgerald, scoring 115-113 for Ryder and one, Marcus McDonnell, by the same margin for Jacobs. Boxing News similarly finished with Jacobs two rounds ahead. That
‘I’VE GOT THE CAREERDEFINING WIN THAT’S EVADED ME SO LONG’
FAIR RESULT? Ryder celebrates in the ring as a disgusted Jacobs storms away
28 l BOXING NEWS l FEBRUARY 17, 2022
www.boxingnewsonline.net
