Our annual comeback of the year award goes not to the fighter who came back within a fight, but the fighter who came back in his career after suffering losses, going through long layoffs, or a combination of the two. This year, our honoree represents the culmination of a comeback which actually began in earnest several years ago before truly being realized in 2015. The winner is… Daniel Jacobs.
In July 2010, Jacobs was one of the fast rising young prospects in the sport. He faced fellow unbeaten Dmitry Pirog, and suffered a stoppage defeat. It marked a major setback in his career, but one that was of course not nearly as serious as the setback and trials to come — his bout with cancer.
Jacobs’s road to recovery has been well documented by this point, but the story wasn’t finished being written yet. Throughout his comeback much of his competition had been largely modest. Even when he picked up his championship strap, it was a vacant belt against a fighter in Jarrod Fletcher who had no business competing for it.
This year though he fought on three occasions, biding his time with fights against Caleb Truax and Sergio Mora until he got his opportunity against Peter Quillin. Jacobs pulled off the first round stoppage shocker over Quillin in their “Battle for Brooklyn”, vaulting himself in earnest amongst the best fighters in and around the middleweight division.
Now, he may be facing the winner of the Andy Lee vs. Billy Joe Saunders fight, or could be in the mix with other names ranging from Canelo Alvarez to Gennady Golovkin. Yes, Jacobs survived cancer, and his comeback based on that feat alone is spectacular. But now it’s more, it’s not merely a testament to surviving cancer and returning, it has taken him all the way to the top of the sport. Therefore, in our eyes, Jacobs has at long last completed his comeback, and is a well-deserved winner of this award.
Our runner-up for the award was Nonito Donaire, who was stopped by Nicholas Walters last year, and came back to fight and win three times in 2015, picking up a vacant title strap in the process.
