Danny Jacobs thought he fought the flawless fight; thought he had done all he needed to do to upset Gennady Golovkin and capture the middleweight championship before 19,939 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. His decision defeat of Jacobs marked the first time Golovkin didn’t win a bout by knockout since he out-pointed Amar Amari by unanimous decision in an eight-rounder in June 2008. But the 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113 scores mean it was a close one at Madison Square Garden.
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However, this Saturday, March 18 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Golovkin faces a very risky opponent, not only because of his boxing condition but also because of the motivation that Daniel Jacobs perceivably has.
Golovkin knocked Jacobs down in the fourth with a double dose of rights, but as the fight wore on Jacobs confused the Kazakh by sliding into a southpaw stance, scoring on stinging combinations, holding his own against the unsafe power of the champion.
In his interview with Kellerman, Jacobs said that he felt he won the fight and suggested that the powers that be prevented him from winning in order to set up a potential Golovkin-Canelo fight. But when you throw in Jacobs’ superior hand speed, size, mobility and talent, it’s going to be really tough on Golovkin tonight.
“I think I won by two rounds at least”, Jacobs said. Moreover, Daniel has not lost a single fight; nine consecutive wins and all by knockout.
Gonzalez came back with some quality work in the next three rounds as Srikaset tried to give as good as he got.
Still, with Madison Square Garden reverberating from chants of “Triple G” or “JACOBS”, no one could be sure of the outcome right until the final punch.
Jacobs’ side is sure the 30-year-old with a 32-1, 29 KOs record can beat Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs).
Macklin, one of the game’s toughest customers, says he has never been hit harder than by the body shot with which the Kazakh levelled him for the count when they fought in CT almost four years ago. But he’s never fought anybody on Jacobs’ level. “I’m reliving those moments, the same thought process, same feelings, questioning myself”, Jacobs said, recalling his treatments, rehabilitation and comeback after being sidelined for 18 months. He has been working on it to get into flawless shape before confronting the ambitious Jacobs.
MY TAKE. This fight is nearly guaranteed to end via stoppage and the three judges scoring this fight will have the best seats in the house.
“I understand my position in the game, in this fight”, he says of his underdog status. Without that, one judge would have had the bout scored a draw.
Sor Rungvisai (42-4-1), a former garbage collector, knocked Gonzalez down in the first round with a hard body shot, and if that wasn’t enough for the now-former champ, a third-round accidental headbutt opened a big cut that bled throughout at his right eyebrow.
Earlier, Carlos Cuadras outpointed fellow Mexican David Carmona in a super flyweight fight.
Jacobs has faster hands and so the more eye-catching shots will probably come from him. He wasn’t almost as impressive in his win at the Garden.
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The undercard was very exciting, getting started with a lightweight showdown between Ryan Martin and Bryant Cruz.
