Daniel Jacobs a heavy favorite over Maciej Sulecki

Maciej Sulecki brandishes an impressive record, but Daniel Jacobs is a massive favorite according to oddsmakers.

Maciej Sulecki isn’t a household name, but he is a skilled boxer that deserves respect. However, oddsmakers aren’t giving him much as he heads into a middleweight showdown with Daniel Jacobs.

Daniel Jacobs is one of the most revered boxers in the middleweight division. He cemented his spot at the top of the division after he gave Gennady Golovkin all he could handle in 2017. At the time, Golovkin appeared invincible. Golovkin stopped 23 straight opponents before fighting Jacobs.

Jacobs didn’t fear Golovkin, and he went toe to toe with him. Many people thought he won the fight. The judges scored the bout unanimously for Golokin but by a slim margin on all three cards.

Jacobs lost on paper but won in the court of public opinion. He proved to have heart, skill and courage. Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez rule the middleweight division, but Jacobs is a close third.

Maciej Sulecki is 26-0 with 10 knockouts. If paper won fights, then Sulecki would be favored over Jacobs. He’s never lost, and Jacobs has lost twice. People forget that Jacobs was knocked out in 2010 by Dmitry Pirog.

At the time, Pirog was one of the biggest names in the middleweight division. Pirog was supposed to fight Gennady Golovkin in 2012, but the bout was canceled after he suffered a severe back injury. He never fought again. Unfortunately, we will never know how good Pirog could have been.

It is easy to dismiss Jacobs’s loss to Pirog as a fluke, but it wasn’t. He was a young 23-year-old who wasn’t ready for the likes of Pirog. He has gained a lot of experience since then, and his skills today are superior to those of his youth.

Sulecki is undefeated, but he lacks experience against elite-level boxing talent. In eight years as a boxer, Sulecki’s biggest achievement is knocking out Hugo Centeno Jr. in 2016. Centeno was a 24-0 rising prospect at the time, but Sulecki stopped him in the 10th round.

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His win over Centeno is less impressive since Jermall Charlo easily knocked out Centeno in the second round of their fight on April 21. Charlo exposed Centeno as a B-level boxer.

Sulecki’s next biggest win was over Jack Culcay late in 2017. Culcay was also a rising prospect before he lost to Sulecki. Culcay received some hype before his fight with Sulecki, but he followed up his loss to Sulecki with another loss to Demetrius Andrade. Sulecki also fought him as a super welterweight, not as a middleweight.

Sulecki’s record is nice, but it’s filled with mid-level opposition. Jacobs has two losses on his record, but his list of opponents is lightyears ahead of Sulecki’s résumé. Jacobs has wins over Peter Quillin, Caleb Truax and two over Sergio Mora.

According to Oddsshark.com, Daniel Jacobs is as much as a -2150 favorite on some betting lines. The numbers are so skewed due to Jacobs’s admirable performance against Gennady Golovkin and Sulecki’s lack of experience against top-tier boxers.

If Sulecki wants to shock the world, he needs to utilize his hand speed. He has decent speed for a middleweight. Sulecki tends to let his hands go, which may help him against Jacobs. He can try to neutralize Jacobs’s offense by outworking him. He needs to avoid being careless in the process.

Sulecki has solid head movement from a distance, but he becomes solitary when infighting. If he freezes while in close quarters, then Jacobs will tee off on him with power shots. Sulecki has a decent chin, but Jacobs is a power puncher. Jacobs has an 83 percent knockout rating.

Sulecki’s biggest weakness is his lack of power. He has a 38 percent knockout rating. Sulecki has knocked out several super welterweights, but his power doesn’t have the same impact as a middleweight.

Sulecki lacks the power to bother Jacobs. Jacobs is an intelligent boxer, but he won’t respect Sulecki’s power. Eventually, he will become the aggressor and Sulecki will lack the power to fend Jacobs off.

Sulecki might last to the closing bell, but I think Jacobs will knock him out by round 10. Sulecki doesn’t like to run, but he should against Jacobs. He can counter-punch, but even when he is on his back foot, he has spurts where he presses ahead and throws a flurry of punches. This will prove to be a dangerous tactic against Jacobs.

Next: Adrien Broner, Jessie Vargas battle to draw

Sulecki is a spirited boxer, but he lacks the firepower to hang with Jacobs. Once Jacobs wins, look for Jermall Charlo to enter the ring to kick off the promotion of their probable matchup. Ultimately, this bout is a promotion for a bigger payday for Jacobs.

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