By Jake Donovan
 
CHICAGO--Eight months ago, Daniel Jacobs became the first cancer survivor to go on to win a major title. He is now also the first to successfully defend one after stopping Caleb Truax in the 12th and final round Friday evening at UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.

Action was extremely slow in the early rounds. Jacobs utilized his superior skill set, which was enough to prevent Truax from working his way inside. Both fighters picked up the pace in round four. Jacobs was able to land in combination, but left himself open for a counter right hand from Truax. 

A more fluid offense was produced by Jacobs in round five, a frame that saw Truax bouncing and stalking, but not landing anything in or giving cause for applause for the local fan base he’s built in recent years or for those who traveled from Minnesota.

Jacobs enjoyed his first dominant round in the sixth, repeatedly scoring with right hands up top and forcing Truax to cover up along the ropes. The offensive success got the best of Jacobs, who kept throwing after the bell, getting in a right hand that clipped Truax on the chin, though the challenger shrugged it off and marched back to his corner in search of further instructions. 

Enough power shots made its way home for Truax to have to contend with a bloody nose as the bout entered the second half. Jacobs came out fighting from the southpaw stance, though quickly switched back to conventional stance. The best action in the round came in the final 30 seconds, with Jacobs offering a shoeshine after Truax overcommitted on a right hand that never found its way home. 

The next few rounds of nothing were salvaged with two-way punching in a crowd-reviving 10th round. Jacobs fought like a man who wanted to close the show, further bloodying up Truax with straight punches upstairs. The Brooklynite let his guard down just enough for Truax to rally back and land a right hand that briefly turned the tide but brought a roar approval from the fans. 

Truax failed to follow up in the championship rounds, and it cost him big time.

Just as the bout appeared destined to go to the scorecards, it was Jacobs who went for broke. The defending titlist delivered the bout’s lone knockdown, knocking Truax backwards, with the ropes barely holding him up. Referee Dave Smith correctly ruled it a knockdown, but was given a far more daunting task in the ensuing volley.

Jacobs unloaded on a near defenseless Truax, who covered up and ducked just enough to force the action to continue that much longer. Too many unanswered punches came in, however, forcing the third man to jump in and stop the contest.

The official time of the stoppage came at 2:12 of the 12th round.

Jacobs improves to 29-1 (26KOs) with the win, his ninth straight since suffering the lone defeat of his career nearly five years ago. The bout was his first among his current win streak to go the distance, which includes six straight knockouts since kicking cancer’s ass and returning to the ring in 2012. 

Truax comes up short in his first bid at a major title, falling to 25-2-2 (12KOs). The setback ends an eight-fight unbeaten streak since his 10-round loss to Jermain Taylor, in which he managed to floor the comebacking ex-champion before falling short on the cards in their April ’12 clash. 

The bout aired live on Spike TV as part of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series. 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox