DANIEL ‘MIRACLE MAN’ JACOBS RETIRES JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ, JR.

DAZN completed an incredible year of boxing in front of an electric crowd of 10,697 on Friday night at the Talking Stick Resort Arena, where Daniel ‘Miracle Man’ Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) earned a stoppage victory over Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (51-4-1, 33 KOs). The referee called an end to the contest after Chavez Jr. complained of problems breathing after the fifth round. Chavez, Jr. failed to meet the 168-pound weight limit at Thursday’s weigh-in resulting in tonight’s matchup being contested at 173 pounds.

In a thrilling co-main event, Julio Cesar Martinez (15-1, 12 KOs) claimed the WBC World Flyweight Title after a stoppage victory in an explosive battle against Cristofer Rosales (29-5, 20 KOs) that saw an ample amount of punches thrown in a 12-round bout. Maurice Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs) had an impressive debut at welterweight with a first-round TKO of Uriel Perez (19-5, 17 KOs) in a scheduled ten-round fight. Hooker rebounded following a knockout defeat to Jose Ramirez for the super lightweight title – a belt Hooker is adamant about bringing back to his hometown of Dallas.

Earlier in the evening, Reshat Mati (6-0, 4 KOs) again showed his power with a stoppage over Rakim Johnson (6-9-1, 5 KOs) who hit the canvas four times, Liam Smith (29-2-1, 16 KOs) earned a victory with a polished performance over Roberto Garcia (42-5, 25 KOs) in a ten-round bout, and Josh Kelly (10-0-1, 6 KOs) remained undefeated after going the distance in a tough battle with Winston Campos (31-7-6, 19 KOs).

“To me it wasn’t my debut at super middleweight. This is so disrespectful, this was at cruiserweight. His jab was so heavy, physically he was a bigger man. I tried my best to be elusive and box, he was a heavy man. I tried to counter his punches. They’re stealing my victory, man.

“It took me two or three rounds honestly. I don’t know what he had left. I don’t know if he had something up his sleeves, but I just wanted to be acclimated. I made sure I could take punches, see if he wanted to brawl. But for now I’m comfortable with the victory, and now I can’t enjoy the victory, but I did my part.

“This wasn’t necessarily at super middleweight. He fought a cruiserweight. I want to move forward and prove I’m the best. It’s a matter of getting acclimated and moving forward in the right direction.

“I want to fight the biggest in the division. I want Jermall Charlo and GGG again. There’s Billy Joe Saunders and a lot of other champions.”

“It was a very good fight. I was getting close but got headbutted above the left eye. Then I had problems because of all the blood. I came over to the corner and couldn’t breathe. He elbowed me, and headbutted me. Very tough fight, I felt I couldn’t go cause I couldn’t breathe properly. The ref wasn’t calling anything.

“I apologize to the fans. I’d love to have a rematch. I got headbutted, he fought a dirty fight, and didn’t even take a point away. He would have been able to continue doing the dirty work.”

On performance: “Very happy, very strong preparation. An apology, we came with everything with Saúl in camp, and things went our way. We knew Rosales would be a tough fighter, he lasted 7 or 8 rounds, but the tricks came our way and we came out and won the fight. Not at all, those are punches that come. We’re happy Eddie gave us another opportunity and we were able to come through.”

On next move in his career: “We want to follow in Saúl’s footsteps. We will go for all the titles and belts, wherever and whenever. Thank you to all the people in Mexico!”

On his performance: “I felt good, I want my belt back. I’ll do whatever I can to get my belt back. Josh Taylor, whoever it is, I want my belt back at 140.The weight didn’t matter to me. I got a new team, we trained hard, and I’m ready. Tonight I couldn’t show you too much, but next fight I will. I got in my rhythm and hit my shots.

“I know when I hit him with the body shot I hurt him. When he backed up on the ropes I attacked him. I have the best jab at 140. No one can beat me when I’m conditioned. I just want my belt back. Where I’m from I can’t go out like that. I want my belt back.”

Daniel Jacobs vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr

Daniel Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) defeats Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (51-4-1, 33 KOs) by TKO at the end of Round 5

Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Cristofer Rosales

Julio Cesar Martinez (15-1, 12 KOs) defeats Cristofer Rosales (29-5, 20 KOs) by TKO at 1:19 of Round 9

10-Round Welterweight Bout @ 144 lbs.

Maurice Hooker vs. Uriel Perez

Maurice Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs) defeats Uriel Perez (19-5, 17 KOs) by TKO at 2:52 of Round 1

Reshat Mati vs. Rakim Johnson

Reshat Mati (6-0, 4 KOs) defeats Rakim Johnson (6-9-1, 5 KOs) by TKO at 2:05 of Round 1

Liam Smith vs. Roberto Garcia

Liam Smith (29-2-1, 16 KOs) defeats Roberto Garcia (42-5, 25 KOs) by unanimous decision

(99-91 X2, 98-92)

Josh Kelly vs. Winston Campos

Josh Kelly (10-0-1, 6 KOs) defeats Winston Campos (31-7-6, 19 KOs) by unanimous decision

(99-90 X2, 98-91)

DAZN looks forward to kicking off the new year with two highly anticipated cards featuring former junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia moving up to middleweight to face Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan on Jan. 11, and undefeated middleweight star Demetrius Andrade defends his WBO world middleweight title against contender Luke Keeler in Miami on Thursday, Jan. 30. Also on that card will be IBF world super featherweight titlist Tevin Farmer defending against JoJo Diaz, and unified super bantamweight Daniel Roman defending his titles against Murodjon Akhmadaliev.

For more information, fans can follow DAZN’s U.S. social channels: @DAZNUSA on Facebook, @DAZN_USA for Twitter, and DAZN_USA for Instagram.

DAZN is the largest global sports streaming service. Since launching in 2016, DAZN has expanded to nine countries across four continents with its app available for download in the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan and Brazil. In the U.S., DAZN has made its mark as an attractive alternative to pay-per-view within the combat sports industry. The service features big fights from Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, GGG Promotions, Bellator MMA, the World Boxing Super Series and Combate Americas, all for one affordable price, on any device – including smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, games consoles and PCs. DAZN also features The Pat McAfee Show, live MLB action each day of the season with its daily show ChangeUp and a growing number of projects from DAZN Originals.