In San Antonio, Texas, then-unbeaten Julius Jackson tasted his first major setback when he locked horns with Jose Uzcategui. It didn’t come as a ‘major’ upset per se, but it wouldn’t be reaching to say Jackson was the favorite in this PBC on Fox Sports 1 headliner.
Jackson (19-1, 15 KO) got clocked with a thunderous right-hand from his heavy-handed opponent in just the first minute, which really signalled the beginning of the end. Jackson hit the canvas, beat the count, but instantly became target practice, suffering another two knockdowns before the bell chimed.
And Uzcategui (24-1, 20 KO) didn’t let up the pressure going into the 2nd round, of course. The Venezuela bomber pounced on his foe, and following a final fourth meeting with the canvas, the referee mercifully put an end to the slaughter. And thank goodness he did.
Check out PBC’s Jackson vs Uzcategui Highlights below:
What does this mean for the Super Middleweight division exactly? On the surface, it’s pretty obvious: Uzcategui gets a huge career boost while Jackson suffers a huge career loss. If we stick around the Super Middleweight division or thereabouts, this upset severity can be likened to that of Daniel Jacobs’ savage KO at the hands of Dmitry Pirog, or more recently, Tony Harrison’s at the hands of Willie Nelson.
Jackson will no doubt begin a slow rebuild following this career-derailing defeat, while Uzcategui will chase down bigger fish. Some food for thought could be a Uzcategui showdown with IBF champ, James DeGale, if the Briton can get past Lucian Bute on November 28th. Statistics and general consensus would suggest he will.
But that probably won’t happen since DeGale has said he is chasing big names – or in boxing business terms, ‘money makers’. Uzcategui looks like a legitimate threat, but he doesn’t bring in waves of dough. Not yet, anyway.
There are other 168lb Top 10 fighters out there he could get a crack at like perhaps a Robert Stieglitz. That’s probably more realistic. For now, we’ll just have to sit tight and see what Uzcategui’s handlers have planned for him.
Share your opinions on Jackson vs Uzcategui, fight fans. What went wrong for Julius Jackson? Could defeat have been avoided? And who would be a good follow up opponent for Uzcategui now?
