Boxing returns to Barclays Center on Aug. 9 with three world championship bouts.
Danny Garcia (28-0, 16 KOs) of Philadelphia defends his WBC/WBA 140-pound titles against Rod Salka of Bunola, Pa., while IBF 140-pound champion Lamont Peterson (32-2-1, 16 KOs) of Washington, D.C., risks his belt against Edgar Santana (29-4, 20 KOs) of New York, and Brooklyn’s Danny Jacobs (27-1, 24 KOs) gets a shot at the vacant WBA middleweight crown challenging Jarrod Fletcher (18-1, 10 KOs) of Australia.
This will be Jacobs’ second chance at a world title. He was beaten by Dmitry Pirog for the WBO middleweight crown on July 31, 2010, but subsequently was diagnosed with cancer on his spine that threatened not only his boxing career, but also his life. He was out of action for nearly two years after undergoing surgery and treatment for the disease. Jacobs made a triumphant return to the ring in October 2012 and has won six straight fights to earn this chance at his first world title.
“I remember being on my death bed, and I found out in the newspaper that the Barclays Center was opening and that they were going to have fights here and me not knowing if I would ever be able to box again, let alone perform here,” Jacobs said during a press conference this week at Barclays Center to announce the bout, “to be standing here in front of you guys and saying that I’m fighting for the WBA Championship of the world is awesome!”
Fletcher is no slouch. He’s a two-time Olympian, whose only professional defeat came nearly two years ago. But this is his first title bout and his first fight in the United States.
“I want to thank my opponent for accepting this fight because he’s coming from Australia to Brooklyn to fight in my backyard,” Jacobs said. “It says a lot about that fighter and the man that he is and I applaud that.”
Garcia might be listed as the main event, but he is left with fighting a virtual unknown after being considered as a possible opponent for Floyd Mayweather. Salka lost a majority decision to Ricardo Alvarez last December. Garcia will be defending his title for the sixth time.
“I’ve got to show the world why I’m the unified super lightweight champion of the world,” Garcia said. “It’s going to be a classy performance, but ugly for my opponent.”
Meanwhile, it looks as if Mayweather and Marcos Maidana will meet again on Sept. 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mayweather made the announcement during an interview before the BET Awards, though the Maidana camp insists negotiations haven’t been finalized. It will be a rematch of their fight held last May, in which Mayweather captured a majority decision in a rugged bout when the pound-for-pound champion took more punishment than he has in recent bouts.