Daniel Jacobs to Golovkin: “Never ran and I never will!!!”

By Boxing News - 09/14/2016 - Comments

Image: Daniel Jacobs to Golovkin: "Never ran and I never will!!!"

By Allan Fox: WBA World middleweight champion Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) and IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) had a brief exchange earlier today on social media in which Jacobs, 29, let ‘him know that he wasn’t planning on running from him by not taking the fight. Golovkin vs. Jacobs shapes up to be a war from start to finish. Neither guy will back off in this fight, which is a good thing. Watching Kell Brook run from Golovkin last Saturday night was not a pleasant experience. At least Jacobs will try and make a fight of it, and that’s great boxing fans because they’re in for a real treat.

This is good news to know, because World Boxing Association president Gilberto Mendoza recently ordered Jacobs and Golovkin to face each other within 120 days. The two fighters have a month to get the fight negotiated. Jacobs doesn’t plan on vacating, and it goes without saying that GGG will be taking the fight.

There’s still a chance that Golovkin could get a unification match in November against WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders. That’s a fight that may prove difficult to put together though, so it’s more likely that we’ll be seeing Golovkin and Jacobs next rather than Golovkin and Saunders.

Jacobs to GGG: “Never ran and I never will.”

Golovkin: “Daniel Jacobs, then you should already start practicing, and while you are dancing, do not forget to practice signing contracts #GGG-Jacobs.”

This should be a great fight, because it gives Golovkin not only a fighter that can punch hard, but also one with some hand speed and boxing skills to go along with it. The 6’0” Jacobs is a considerable improvement over Golovkin’s last opponent Kell Brook in terms of size, speed and especially in the power department. Brook was able to land shots, but he didn’t have the power to go along with it.

Brook could have landed his punches all night long, and he still wouldn’t have been able to beat Golovkin. The power was missing. At the same time, Brook’s face couldn’t take Golovkin’s big power shots, which is why we saw a stoppage in the 5th after Brook suffered an eye injury. If wasn’t an eye injury, Brook would have eventually broken down in some other area, because Golovkin was just getting started.

Jacobs is a worthy opponent for Golovkin, because it gives him someone that can match him more or less in the power department. Jacobs doesn’t quite have the same power that Golovkin has going for him, but he makes up for it by being faster and with more height and reach. Jacobs is an inch and a half taller than Triple G, and he has a three inch reach advantage. That might not mean a whole lot if Golovkin can get close enough to land his shots.

The 5’11” Russian Dmitry Pirog stopped Jacobs in the 6th round in 2010 in a one-sided contest. Pirog has the exact same reach as Golovkin, and he had no problems hitting Jacobs with looping power shots all night. Pirog had Jacobs down as early as the 2nd round, but wasn’t given credit for it after nailing him with a straight right hand. The fight was just absolutely one-sided. Pirog pressured Jacobs constantly, and took his best shots in order land his own. Jacobs didn’t have the chin to take Pirog’s shots. If Jacobs hasn’t improved in that department, then he could be in for an early night against Golovkin. Jacobs was just 23 when he fought Pirog, and he seems to be a little more powerful and confident at 29. Still. the way that Pirog hammered Jacobs, it’s hard not to picture Golovkin doing the same if he fights at best level. Jacobs is a lot easier to hit than Brook, who was mainly focusing on eluding Golovkin’s punches and countering him with his weaker shots.

Jacobs is a natural middleweight, and he at least has that going for him. His size probably won’t be a factor against Triple G. Jacobs has won his last 12 fights since his loss to Pirog. That’s the good news. What’s bad is that he’s not been fighting high quality opponents. For example, Jacobs’ last two fights were against Sergio Mora. That fighter is no longer relevant at 160. He’s an aging 35-year-old with no power, and apparently no ranking in the top 15. Why Jacobs’ management decided to put him in twice with Mora is hard to understand. Those were easy fights, and it’s surprising that the mismatches were televised. On paper, they weren’t competitive and in reality they weren’t. So we don’t know how good Jacobs is because his last real quality opponent was Pirog. Peter Quillin is a decent fighter, but he never proved himself at middleweight by beating anyone good. Quillin is Jacobs’ best win on his resume, and it wasn’t much of a win due to Quillin never having done anything.