Jacobs wins NABF middleweight title by TKO at Madison Square Garden

Danny Jacobs has been on the big stage before, but it usually comes well before the main event.

Jacobs is inching his way up the undercards of major matches, though, and last night was another step for the 23-year-old from Brooklyn.

Jacobs dispatched Juan Astorga on a technical knockout 51 seconds into the second round in The Theater at Madison Square Garden to claim the NABF middleweight title and defend the NABO middleweight crown.

Jacobs knocked Astorga down four times before the fight was stopped.

Jacobs, a four-time Golden Gloves champion, made his pro debut on Dec. 8, 2007, on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton bout. He's been featured on the cards for any number of big-name fighters: Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins.

And Jacobs has won his way up the ranks. He's now 20-0 and on the verge of his first big bout, possibly with Ireland's John Duddy, and a shot at becoming a bigger name. "I'm a very patient guy," Jacobs said. "I really just hope things work out."

Jacobs trained at the same Brooklyn gym as Paulie Malignaggi, last night's headliner, but the two are not similar in demeanor. The motormouthed Malignaggi is nothing like the understated Jacobs, who has nothing but praise for his old gym mate.

"He's a very determined guy," Jacobs said of Malignaggi. "He's the only guy I know who can train for a fight in the city. I need to get away, but he can block out the distractions somehow."

Jacobs hadn't been in the ring in the Garden since Nov. 8, 2008, when he defeated Jimmy Campbell on a third-round TKO on the undercard of the Joe Calzaghe-Roy Jones Jr. fight.

Since then, he's fought all over, including a 10-round decision over Ishe Smith in Houston on Aug. 22 of last year to win the vacant NABO middleweight title. Jacobs has been training in Houston and in Pennsylvania, just to be a little closer to home.

"There's nothing like fighting at home, in front of my fans, and hopefully I can make a few new fans too," he said. "The New York crowd is the realest crowd there is in boxing. It's like if you were onstage at The Apollo up in Harlem - if you don't perform, they're going to boo you, no matter where you're from."

If and when Jacobs makes it to the top of a card, he won't suddenly become a brash, trash-talking fighter. His turn at the podium at the news conference on Wednesday was the most understated moment of the whole affair, especially once Malignaggi got going.

"I'm not going to change who I am just to sell tickets or anything like that," he said. "My grandmother raised me right."