John Ryder beats former champion Daniel Jacobs by decision

John Ryder has a lot to celebrate on Saturday, Feb. 12, after he defeated Daniel Jacobs via split decision in his hometown of London, England. 

On Feb. 12, Daniel Jacobs expected to defeat London’s John Ryder in the hopes of earning a shot at another world boxing title. Instead, he’s left wondering what his next move is after tasting defeat.

Jacobs (37-4, 30 KOs) held the WBA and IBF middleweight titles at separate times throughout his 15-year professional boxing career. Even when he lost to Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, Jacobs more than held his own. He was a world-class fighter, but he looked badly faded in recent outings.

Against Gabriel Rosado in November 2020, Jacobs benefitted from a close split decision that went his way. Many viewed the outcome as a gift and thought Rosado deserved the win. Regardless, Jacobs won and took a fight against Ryder next.

When Jacobs fought Rosado, he did so without long-time trainer Andre Rozier. He looked slow and sluggish throughout the fight, which prompted a return to Rozier, but it turns out that not even Rozier could get the best out of the 35-year-old Jacobs.

Ryder never had the accolades of Jacobs, but he clawed his way up the rankings. He took several losses throughout his career but learned from those experiences. In 2019 Ryder challenged Callum Smith for the super middleweight title. Ryder lost unanimously, but many thought he beat Smith.

John Ryder excited fans at London’s Alexandra Palace to upset former titlist, Daniel Jacobs

Jacobs had the better pedigree and a height and reach advantage against Ryder, but Ryder had the London crowd on his side against the American Jacobs. Ryder is only two years younger than Jacobs, but he was the aggressor for most of the bout.

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The first few rounds were difficult to score and relatively sloppy. Jacobs held the southpaw Ryder whenever he closed the distance. Neither man was throwing or landing much, but the slow tempo favored Jacobs.

For a while, it looked like Jacobs could crawl his way to an ugly win in a displeasing fight to watch, but things percolated in round 7. Ryder landed multiple combinations utilizing his lead right hook and left uppercut.

Ryder’s momentum carried into round 8 and pulsated throughout the remainder of the contest. Jacobs looked more relaxed down the stretch and probably won a round or two, but his inactivity in the early going gave the judges added room to score against him.

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After round 12, the judges returned scores of 115-113 for Jacobs and two of 115-113 for Ryder giving him the split decision victory.

According to CompuBox stats, Ryder landed 12 more punches than Jacobs despite throwing 203 fewer punches. Jacobs was more active than Ryder, but Ryder’s accuracy was much better.

Ryder won the WBA title eliminator, which puts him on the radar for a title shot. Alvarez is the undisputed champion, but there are many more desirable fights for Alvarez in the division and out. Ryder likely won’t get Alvarez, but he’s making up ground towards a future world title opportunity.