Daniel Jacobs vs John Ryder ends in split decision, career-best win for the Londoner

John Ryder (31-5) came out the victor in a must-win WBA super-middleweight title eliminator against Daniel Jacobs (37-4) in front of a capacity crowd at the Alexandra Palace, London.

Coming into the bout, Ryder had repeatedly confessed that “for the loser, there aren’t many places to go,” and this was likely the correct assessment considering the ever-changing nature of the super-middleweight division.

The opening couple of rounds saw both men hold their feet and exchange at mid-range, with the American looking the sharper of the two.

Jacobs continued to dictate the pace through rounds three to five, keeping Ryder at bay with an active jab and a chopping right hand over the top on his advancing foe.

In round six, Ryder began to pick up the pace as he repeatedly drove his man up against the ropes, yet Jacobs remained composed, picking his punches well.

The second half of the fight was a different story, however, as Ryder came to life in rounds seven, eight and nine.

Jacobs, who had previously done well at keeping Ryder away, found himself drawn into a battle of will on the inside.

What had started as a comfortable fight for Jacobs had quickly transformed into a back-and-forth affair.

The final three rounds could have gone either way but realistically Jacobs only needed to nick one to win it.

But according to the judges they all went to Ryder, as the Islington man came through with the split decision victory. One judge gave it to Jacobs at 115-113, while two had it 115-113 to Ryder.

Fisher goes the distance for the first time

In the co-main event, Johnny Fisher (5-0) defeated Gabriel Enguema (10-12) via unanimous decision.

Spurred on by his 2,500 fans, Fisher remained unphased by the occasion and opted for a more measured approach. Throughout he boxed and moved, disguising his trademark right hand with varied lead hand selection.

As the fight went on, Fisher came into his own and showed the improvements necessary to make the step up to the next level.

‘The Romford Bull’ will only grow from the crucial six rounds and at just 22 years old there is plenty more to come from the popular heavyweight.

Undercard highlights

Felix Cash (15-0) showed tremendous heart to pick himself up off the canvas twice and box his way to a unanimous decision victory over highly ranked contender Magomed Madiev (15-1-2). Scorecards of 95-2, 95-2 and 94-3 accurately represented the fight with Cash winning every round apart from the two where he was knocked down.

There was no feeling-out process between Ellie Scotney (4-0) and Jorgelina Guanini (9-4-2). Scotney took it on points after finding her feet in the second half of the fight, but early on the relentless pressure of Guanini caused her all kinds of problems.

Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (10-0) became only the third man to finish durable Argentinian gatekeeper Javier Francisco Maciel (33-16) in an impressive sixth-round TKO victory. The up-and-coming middleweight picked his punches beautifully, scoring three knockdowns en route to the eventual stoppage.

Hopey Price (7-0) continued to show his own physical developments with a fourth-round TKO win against Ricardo Roman (14-13-3). The former Youth Olympic gold medallist had his man down in rounds one and four before forcing the stoppage with a blistering flurry to clinch his second consecutive victory inside the distance.

Cyrus Pattinson (3-0) put on a mature display against Evgenii Vazem (9-22) over six rounds in the welterweight division. Pattinson went through the gears well and barely put a foot wrong as he coasted to a unanimous decision victory.

The opening bout of the evening saw Shiloh Defreitas (3-0) defeat Alexey Tukhtarov (4-24-6) via unanimous decision in a very one-sided contest. Defreitas remained in complete control throughout but was unable to get the finish despite his best efforts.