Luis Arias was game but outgunned in every category that mattered, and even in categories that didn?t matter?
Saturday night at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, former WBA World middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs (33-2, 29 KOs), from Brooklyn, New York, outpointed the game but outclassed Luis Arias (18-1, 9 KOs), from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after 12 lopsided rounds.
The final scores were 120-107 (Julie Lederman), 119-108 (Steve Weisfeld), and 118-109 (Larry Hazzard Jr.).
The fight was the first for Jacobs fighting under the Matchroom Boxing banner. With steady Eddie Hearn handing the particulars, which include HBO providing Jacobs welcome but vociferous cover, a more competitive fight would have made sense under the circumstances. Maybe Matchroom and HBO need more time to smooth the rough edges. Maybe can wait for his fight with Canelo.
Fighting out of the red corner in red and grey trunks, Jacobs quickly established who the better fighter was. Bigger, stronger, more seasoned and experienced, Jacobs prevented Arias from mounting any significant offensive output.
Arias, fighting out of the red corner in red trunks trimmed in white, did as well as can be expected. But he was outgunned in every category that mattered, and even in categories that didn?t matter. Perhaps that?s how it was meant to be. But perhaps Jacobs deserves better.
Allowing for human error in exchange for some semblance of how one-sided the bout was, CompuBox numbers fill in the blanks.
Jacobs landed 184 of 581 total punches thrown (31.7%) to 88 of 318 (27%) for Arias. Jacobs connected with 44 of 267 jabs (16.5%) to 18 of 100 (18%) for Arias. It was no better in the power punch department. Jacobs landed 140 of 314 (44.6%). Arias landed 70 of 218 (32.1%) power punches thrown.
Less known for its language than the legitimacy of their numbers, CompuBox described Jacobs? performance as ?workmanlike,? which is as good a summation as any. The fight was in the bag from the moment it was signed. If it turms out that Jacobs is one of those fighters who fights up or down to the level of his competition, he needs stiffer competition in order for his fights to be interesting, let alone meaningful.
