All Day
Patrick Day
Those are the words, inscribed at the top and bottom of a robe introduced this week by Daniel Jacobs.
Words to live by. Words to fight for.
Jacobs will fight in memory of his old friend on Dec. 20 at Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix. For now, he is scheduled to face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. But that could change, subject to a lawsuit Chavez has filed in Nevada in an attempt to get a ruling that will allow him to fight in Arizona despite his suspension in Nevada for refusing to undergo a drug test.
The opponent doesn’t seem to matter much. Instead, Jacobs’ heartfelt fight to honor a fallen friend is the story.
“Boxing is not the same,’’ Jacobs said when the super middleweight fight was announced.
But feelings for Day are unchanged, stronger than ever since Day died four days after suffering brain trauma in a fight on Oct. 12.
“The robe is symbolic of what he meant to me,” Jacobs said in a conference call.
Jacobs introduced the robe and trunks on social media this week. In addition to All Day, Patrick Day, there is picture of the middleweight, a Rest in Paradise inscription and the dates of his short life, 1992-2019.
The grief is still there, Jacobs said. But he is also prepared to re-enter the ring and confront the dangers that killed a friend.
“I know he would want me to not be sad, to be an inspiration in the ring,’’ said Jacobs, who plans to give the robe and trunks to Day’s family. “That’s who he was. We sparred numerous times in the ring, spent countless hours together. He was a beautiful person, and I know he would want me to keep moving forward.”
Moving forward every day, All Day.