FORMER light-middleweight world champion Sergio Mora acknowledges he will be the underdog when he challenges Daniel Jacobs for his WBA world middleweight title on August 1, but insists his experience will prove key.
The 34-year-old fights Jacobs on the undercard of Danny Garcia’s clash with Paulie Malignaggi at the Barclays Center.
Jacobs, 28, has been installed as a fairly heavy favourite for the bout but Mora finds the role of underdog a familiar one and is aware of the considerable task at hand.
“The last time I fought for a world title was seven years ago and I was able to defeat Vernon Forrest as a 4-1 underdog,” he said.
“I think I’m going to be an underdog for this fight again, fighting the younger, stronger champion in his hometown. So defeating him is going to be tough with all the cards stacked against me.
“I’m hungry for that world title and I know that I’m going to have to be extra sharp and do a lot more than just have a close victory in his hometown.”
‘The Latin Snake’ was also very complimentary of his opponent, noting his advantages although also highlighting one area in which he is lacking.
“The guy has overall talent. He’s far younger, faster, stronger and hits harder than me and he has more momentum coming his way. He’s on a nine-fight win streak and he beats me in that respect as well.
“But the thing that I can say is that he hasn’t faced opposition that I faced.”
Having faced the likes of Brian Vera, Shane Mosley and Vernon Forrest, Mora has certainly fought the higher level of opponents.
With just nine of his 28 victories coming inside the distance, Mora has been criticised for his lack of power but believes he makes up for it with other attributes.
“I’ve been dealing with this negative criticism for my entire career. It’s something that followed me.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t born with power. You need to be born with power. If I have a way where I can ingest power and knock out and what people want to see into my arsenal, then I’ll do it, but I can’t. I was born the way I’m born. I’ve got to do what I can with my abilities.
“I think I’ve come a long way with all the other athletes that lack power and I think that makes me an even better fighter. It made me evolve into a different type of boxer.
“So it doesn’t bother me. Power is not the number one aspect you need to be successful it’s your agility, techniques, your defence, body shots, the strategy, it’s following that strategy and it’s hard.”
