The December 1 event at Madison Square Garden just became an explosive tripleheader with the addition of unbeaten Puerto Rican phenom Jayson Velez taking on Mexico’s Salvador Sanchez II in a 10-round fight for the vacant WBC Silver Featherweight title in a classic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico battle.
In the second co-featured attraction, one of boxing’s top young talents, middleweight Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs, will face Cleveland’s Chris “The Irish Ghost” Fitzpatrick in a 10-round middleweight fight as Jacobs returns for his second fight after winning a harrowing battle against a cancerous tumor that attacked his spine. The tripleheader will be televised on SHOWTIME from Madison Square Garden.
A native of Juncos, Puerto Rico, 24-year-old Jayson Velez (19-0, 14 KO’s) has shown the potential to follow in the championship footsteps of Puerto Rico’s most famous resident, Miguel Cotto. A sharp puncher who can take out opponents with either hand, Velez is coming off of a sixth round knockout over Leivi Brea in August. On December 1, he returns to Madison Square Garden for the first time since stopping Jesus Bayron in June of 2009.
Hailing from Tianguistenco, Mexico, Salvador “Sal II” Sanchez II (30-4-3, 18 KO’s) is carrying on his pugilistic family name following the tragic death of his uncle, the legendary featherweight champion Salvador Sanchez, in 1982. The winner of 11 straight, the 27-year-old Sanchez will pay homage to his uncle on December 1 by wearing the trunks, shoes and robe the Hall of Famer wore in his final fight against Azumah Nelson at Madison Square Garden in July of 1982, making this more than just a fight for this promising Mexican warrior.
A highly-decorated amateur boxer with several titles and accolades to his name, Brooklyn’s Danny Jacobs (23-1, 20 KO’s) was achieving the same success in the professional game, soaring to the top of the middleweight division at breakneck speed, with the only hiccup being an upset loss to Dmitry Pirog for the vacant WBO Middleweight title in 2010.
Jacobs quickly rebounded from the defeat, winning two subsequent fights by knockout, but shortly after defeating Robert Kliewer in March of 2011, he was faced with the biggest fight of his life against cancer. Thankfully, the 25-year-old fought just as hard out of the ring as he does inside of it and is now cancer-free after a battle that lasted over a year.
Even more amazing is that after being told he would never fight again, he fought his way back into the ring and looked as sharp as ever when he knocked out Josh Luteran in just 73 seconds on October 20 of this year. Now he will step things up once again when he faces Fitzpatrick on December 1 at The Garden.
Chris “The Irish Ghost” Fitzpatrick (15-2, 6 KO’s) has been boxing since the age of eight and this lifelong passion has finally led him to the Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden for the biggest fight of his career on December 1. A boxer-puncher who always shows up to scrap, the 25-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio has been fighting professionally since 2008 and he’s looking forward to testing Jacobs while showing that he’s ready for the next level of competition in the talent-rich middleweight division.
