Daniel Jacobs

Daniel Jacobs, known as “The Miracle Man”, is an American former professional boxer who competed at middleweight and super-middleweight. Born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, on 3 February 1987, he stood 6ft tall, boxed from an orthodox stance and had a reach of approximately 73in. Jacobs fought professionally from December 2007 until July 2024, completing a record of 37 victories and five defeats, with 30 wins inside the distance. He held the WBA’s secondary middleweight title between 2014 and 2017 and the IBF world middleweight championship from 2018 until 2019. His career was distinguished not only by those championships but by his successful return after treatment for osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer which developed around his spine.

Jacobs was raised in Brownsville by his mother, Yvette, together with his grandmother and aunts, and attended Erasmus Hall High School. He became one of New York’s outstanding amateur boxers, compiling a reported record of 137 victories and seven defeats. His honours included national Junior Olympic, Police Athletic League and Golden Gloves championships, while he won the New York Golden Gloves on four occasions. Jacobs was expected to represent the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games but lost to Shawn Estrada during the national trials. He instead entered the professional ranks under the management of Al Haymon and with the backing of Golden Boy Promotions.

His debut took place on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s victory over Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on 8 December 2007. Jacobs stopped Jose Jesus Hurtado after only 29 seconds and was promoted as “The Golden Child”, a nickname reflecting the high expectations surrounding him. He boxed frequently during his first two years and defeated more experienced opponents including Michael Walker and Ishe Smith. The Smith victory, by unanimous decision over ten rounds in August 2009, brought Jacobs the NABO middleweight title. He advanced to 20–0 before meeting Dmitry Pirog for the vacant WBO championship at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on 31 July 2010. Jacobs led 39–37 on all three scorecards after four rounds but was caught by a well-timed right hand in the fifth. He fell heavily, and referee Robert Byrd stopped the contest at 57 seconds, giving Jacobs his first professional defeat.

Jacobs returned with two victories, but boxing soon became a secondary concern. In May 2011 he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma after suffering weakness and severe pain in his legs. A tumour had formed around his spine and damaged his nerves, leaving him temporarily unable to walk properly. Surgeons removed the growth, after which Jacobs underwent radiation treatment and a prolonged period of rehabilitation. He spent 19 months out of the ring and was at one stage reliant upon a wheelchair and walking aids. In December 2012 he returned to competition, stopping Josh Luteran in the first round. Jacobs was declared cancer-free in 2013 and adopted the name “Miracle Man”, replacing the less suitable “Golden Child”. His return was remarkable in medical as well as sporting terms. However, Jacobs himself consistently treated it as a completed part of his life rather than an excuse to be applied to later performances.

After rebuilding his career with a sequence of stoppage victories, Jacobs won the vacant WBA regular middleweight title against Jarrod Fletcher at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on 9 August 2014. Fletcher was dropped in the opening round and stopped in the fifth. Jacobs defended the title against Caleb Truax, controlling the fight before securing a stoppage in the final round, and then met former WBO champion Peter Quillin in an all-Brooklyn contest in December 2015. Jacobs landed a right hand early in the first round and followed with a rapid series of punches as Quillin staggered towards the ropes. Referee Harvey Dock stopped the fight after 85 seconds. The intervention was debated, but Quillin was badly disorientated and did not protest immediately. It was Jacobs’s most emphatic victory and established him among the division’s leading fighters. He later stopped Sergio Mora in seven rounds after flooring him five times.

Jacobs then challenged Gennadiy Golovkin at Madison Square Garden on 18 March 2017. Golovkin held the WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight championships and had stopped 23 consecutive opponents. Jacobs was knocked down by a right hand in the fourth round but recovered, switched stance effectively and gave Golovkin the most demanding contest of his championship reign to that point. Golovkin won by unanimous decision, with scores of 115–112 from two judges and 114–113 from the third. Jacobs and his supporters disputed the verdict, although it was not an unreasonable decision. Jacobs had caused Golovkin considerable difficulty with his movement, reach and changes between orthodox and southpaw, but Golovkin remained the steadier aggressor and landed the more authoritative jab. Jacobs had declined the IBF’s morning weight check and was therefore ineligible to win that organisation’s title, but the remaining championships were at stake. The defeat enhanced rather than damaged his reputation.

Jacobs rebuilt with clear victories over Luis Arias and the previously unbeaten Maciej Sulecki before facing Sergiy Derevyanchenko for the vacant IBF middleweight championship at Madison Square Garden on 27 October 2018. Jacobs dropped Derevyanchenko in the opening round and won a split decision after a close, demanding contest. The scores were 115–112 twice for Jacobs and 114–113 for Derevyanchenko. The victory made Jacobs a recognised world champion for the second time and secured a unification contest with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in Las Vegas on 4 May 2019. Alvarez held the WBA and WBC titles, while Jacobs brought the IBF belt. Jacobs started cautiously and allowed Alvarez to establish an early lead before producing better work in the second half. Alvarez won a unanimous decision by scores of 115–113 twice and 116–112. Jacobs was competitive but had conceded too much ground during the opening rounds, and the decision was sound.

Jacobs moved to super-middleweight and defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in December 2019 when the Mexican withdrew after the fifth round. The ending caused disorder among sections of the crowd, but Jacobs had been taking control, and Chavez later cited a broken nose. Jacobs then produced a flat performance against Gabriel Rosado in November 2020, narrowly winning a split decision in a fight containing little sustained action. After another lengthy absence, he travelled to London to face John Ryder at Alexandra Palace in February 2022. Jacobs boxed well during the first half but allowed Ryder to close the distance and increase his pressure. Ryder won a split decision, with scores of 115–113 from two judges against one card of 115–113 for Jacobs. It was a close result, although Jacobs’s declining activity and inability to maintain his earlier pace proved costly.

A further 29 months passed before Jacobs returned against Shane Mosley Jr at the Honda Center in Anaheim on 6 July 2024. At 37, Jacobs looked slow and short of timing. An accidental clash of heads cut him near the left eye in the eighth round, but the injury did not account for the wide margin. Mosley won all ten rounds on one card and nine on the other two, receiving scores of 100–90 and 99–91 twice. Jacobs announced his retirement shortly afterwards, ending a professional career of almost 17 years. His record stood at 37–5 with 30 knockouts, and his five defeats had come against Pirog, Golovkin, Alvarez, Ryder and Mosley. He was stopped only once, by Pirog in 2010.

Jacobs was an athletic and versatile boxer with quick hands, sound power and the ability to operate from either stance. At his best, he could box at long range, counter sharply or stand his ground when required. His tendency to surrender rounds through caution sometimes worked against him in close contests, most notably against Alvarez and Ryder, but he remained competitive at championship level for several years. Away from boxing, Jacobs established the Get in the Ring Foundation to assist cancer patients and their families and spoke publicly about treatment, recovery and early diagnosis. He has a son, Nathaniel, whom he repeatedly identified as his principal motivation during his career. Jacobs’s retirement left him as a two-time middleweight champion and one of the few boxers to return from a life-threatening cancer diagnosis and regain a place at the highest level of the sport.