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Daniel Jacobs’ inspiration reaches greater audience with Peter Quillin fight

Daniel Jacobs, right, fights Jarrod Fletcher in 2014.

Daniel Jacobs, right, fights Jarrod Fletcher in 2014.

(Ed Mullholand / Getty Images)
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Daniel Jacobs has a powerful story to tell, with the next opportunity coming in a critical chapter of his career: a middleweight world title defense against former champion Peter Quillin on Dec. 5 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

“My legacy is important to me. To become the unified middleweight champion, that’s my ultimate goal,” Jacobs said. “I also have goals with my story to give back to the community and help the people influenced by me. I’m blessed to be in the position I am, and the Peter Quillin fight will take that [message] to another level.”

Jacobs, 28, survived a cancerous tumor on his spine that could have been fatal. He was sidelined from the ring from March 2011 until October 2012, returning with the new nickname “Miracle Man” and winning the World Boxing Assn. World middleweight belt in August 2014.

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He defended the belt for the second time in August, recording a second-round technical knockout win when Southland fighter Sergio Mora injured his ankle when knocked down.

Following that, Jacobs’ manager, Premier Boxing Champions creator Al Haymon, finally granted Jacobs’ wish to fight Quillin (32-0-1, 23 knockouts).

“We’re now stepping up to high-end, elite-caliber guys,” Jacobs said. “We’ve been trying to push [Haymon] for this fight for more than a year. It took time for things to come into play. Now’s the perfect time.”

Showtime will televise the bout from Brooklyn.

Jacobs, who has served as a television boxing analyst, said the timing is right for Quillin, who has recently balked at a greater test, failed to make weight in losing his World Boxing Organization belt to Andy Lee in April, then beaten overmatched Michael Zerafa by knockout on Sept. 12.

“As far as Quillin, he’d have to prove from his last couple of outings not being impressive – well, his last fight was impressive but it was against a guy the fans really didn’t respect. The fans are on his back,” Jacobs said. “He has to prove he’s the real deal.”

Jacobs wants to show his boxing skills are world-class in the matchup.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get it,” Jacobs said. “I have a good strategy with Peter Quillin being the slower fighter. I have the ability to move, elude, avoid shots. And ultimately, I think I’m the smarter fighter – boxing IQ-wise and ring generalship. I think it’s going to be a tough test, but I think I’ll do well.”

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Their bout follows a string of middleweight title bouts, including Gennady Golovkin versus David Lemieux on Oct. 17 at Madison Square Garden and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez versus Miguel Cotto on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas.

While both Jacobs and Quillin have taken heat for being on too slow a path to elite opposition, it was Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, who on Tuesday defended the slow, patient road for apparent champions.

“I totally agree with Sanchez … he’s right on the money,” Jacobs said. “The hard-core boxing fans can appreciate the progress of a good prospect, a future world champion. I’m a young champion. In boxing, you can always learn something. The day you say you’ve stopped learning, the day you say you can’t get any more experience, it’s over.

“I might stop by [MSG], but it’s an HBO fight, so I may have to buy a ticket,” Jacobs said in reference to the acrimony between PBC and HBO.

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