By Dan Ambrose: With Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs’ management still having not agreed to a fight for the WBA ordered 160lb match-up, it’s looking like the fight will be going to a purse bid. The World Boxing Association president Gilberto Mendoza ordered the fighters to start negotiations on September 11, and gave them 30 days to put the fight together.
We are now just six days away from the end of the 30 days and there still isn’t a negotiated fight. It looks like a purse bid will be ordered for the fight. According to Fight News, Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler is saying that they’ve failed to reach an agreement with Jacobs’ management. It’s unknown what the sticking point is in the negotiations.
However, there’s talk that Jacobs’ management is interested in having the fight staged at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Jacobs is from Brookln, so it makes sense for the fight to be staged there. However, Golovkin is arguably the A-side in the negotiations, so he and his promoter Loeffler should have a say so for where the fight is going to take place.
The Golovkin-Jacobs fight could get pushed to 2017. HBO mght go along with that, according to RingTV.
The date for the fight is supposed to be December 10 on HBO Championship Boxing. They have set aside that date for Golovkin. The boxing public wants to see the Golovkin-Jacobs fight now rather than later. The fight would make huge news. No, it still wouldn’t be a PPV fight, but the fans would enjoy seeing it.
Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) has the kind of punching power and talent to beat anyone in the division no matter what the circumstances are. If Golovkin has to fight Jacobs in Brooklyn, then it won’t be a major deal, or at least it shouldn’t. This issue is likely not what the sticking point is in the negotiations. It’s likely something to do with money and perhaps the date of the fight.
Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez said he heard that Jacobs was talking about a specific number he wanted to make for the fight. Sanchez doesn’t know what that number is, but if he’s asking for too much, then he thinks he’s pricing himself out. Golovkin vs. Jacobs is not a pay-per-view worthy fight right now. Even if Jacobs waits until 2017 to fight Golovkin, it still likely won’t be a PPV fight unless he waits until Golovkin faces and beats Saul Canelo Alvarez first. I don’t think Jacobs will be able to do that without getting stripped of his WBA title, because the WBA has already ordered the fight.
A fight between Golovkin and Jacobs would be a lot bigger if Jacobs had been fighting quality opposition lately or at least fighters that are popular. Jacobs recently fought Sergio Mora twice, Caleb Truax and Peter Quillin. The fight against Quillin was a good one, but definitely not the other fights. Those fights were not competitive ones for Jacobs and did nothing for making him a bigger name.
It’ll be good if Golovkin can get the Jacobs fight signed and out of the way. This is a fight that Golovkin has wanted for a long time. The boxing world wants it, especially the U.S fans. If Jacobs winds up getting stripped of his WBA title, then his bargaining power will be less next year you would have to assume. Right now, Golovkin would get a 75/25 split of the revenue for a fight against Jacobs. You would have to imagine that split would widen in 2017 if Jacobs chooses not to fight Golovkin. Jacobs’ management would need to get Golovkin’s team and the WBA to agree to having the fight pushed into the future. If not, then Jacobs would be stripped for not taking the fight with Golovkin now.
Presumably, Golovkin will be fighting Saul Canelo Alvarez in September 2017. However, the chances are that the fight gets pushed to 2018 or later. I think Golden Boy will let the fight marinate further. For Golovkin, the fight against Jacobs is the most doable of the interesting fights at 160. WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders does a lot of talking about wanting to fight Golovkin, but I don’t think he’s serious about wanting the fight. I believe he’s just name dropping to get attention to his fights.