Daniel Jacobs showed no ring rust in his return, whilst there were wins for Jarrell Miller, Jose Ramirez and Artur Beterbiev
In his return to HBO after defeat to Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs won a wide decision over Luis Arias in New York. The official scorecards read 120-107, 119-108, 118-109, with Jacobs scoring a controversial knockdown in the 11th.
Jacobs refused to let Arias take the initiative, using an aggressive style that helped swarm a skilled but over-matched opponent. A concern for some was that Jacobs, coming off a tight points loss to Golovkin, would be rusty in his return. He quickly dispelled this notion with a fast start to the fight and left no doubt he is still one of the top middleweights in the division.
He also confirmed that he would be in Montreal on December 16 for Billy Joe Saunders vs David Lemieux, which is for the WBO middleweight title. If Jacobs can face the winner of that fight in 2018, the division could be one of the most intriguing in boxing. Jarrell Miller is no baby
Jarrell ?Big Baby? Miller? outclassed veteran Mariusz Wach, with the doctor eventually telling the referee to stop the fight after Wach had injured his right hand. Miller controlled the fight, mixing up his work without ever really looking a threat to the division?s ?elite?.
A fight with Anthony Joshua could now be on the cards, and whilst that fight is lopsided on paper, it could at least result in some entertaining promotion.
Jose Ramirez earns title shot, Beterbiev keeps rolling
Jose Ramirez took a significant step up with a win over previously undefeated Mike Reed in his hometown of Fresno, California. Ramirez, who stays undefeated, will now face Amir Imam for Terrance Crawford?s vacated WBC junior welterweight belt. In a now wide open division, Ramirez has an opportunity to become a big name.
Artur Beterbiev almost surrendered his 100% knockout record before a 12th round stoppage of Enrico Koelling. The fight was boring to say the least, but Beterbiev is still a destructive monster who needs big fights in 2018.
Mikey Garcia turns down Linares unification
In a year that has been so exciting for the sport of Boxing, there was always going to be some disappointments. Garcia and Linares have shown themselves to be part of the sports elite over the last year or so, with impressive wins over Broner and Crolla, respectively. Naturally, they should fight.
Unfortunately, Garcia turned down the offer claiming he had a better offer elsewhere and now looks set to fight Robert Easter Jr. The lone positive from this is we could see a Linares-Campbell rematch, after their first fight was entertaining and extremely competitive.
