By Jim Dower: Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) will be facing a big puncher in Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) on March 18, and he could have a lot of problems with the New York fighter’s power. Former 168lb champion Carl Froch thinks Jacobs could take him apart with his big punching power.
Not only is this a rare fight in which Golovkin is facing a puncher, but he’s facing a guy with more size than him in Jacobs. Golovkin will be giving away close to three inches in height and reach to Jacobs. That means for Golovkin to land anything, he’s going to get hit with some hard punches by Jacobs.
That doesn’t mean everything that Jacobs throws will land cleanly enough to hurt Golovkin, but it’s possible. Jacobs hurt Peter Quillin with a right hand in their fight in 2015, and he ended up knocking him out in the 1st round.
Froch said this to IFL TV about his observations on the Golovkin vs. Jacobs fight:
“Golovkin doesn’t have a name on his record that stands out,” said Froch. “I know he fought Kell Brook, but Kell Brook was too light for him. This is the first time that Golovkin is going in with someone that is dangerous at middleweight and that could do something,” said Froch in referring to Daniel Jacobs. “Everybody expects Golovkin to do the business, but he might just struggle and he might come unstuck the later it goes in the fight, because Golovkin gets hit. He probably doesn’t get hurt. He gets hit. But Jacobs can punch. He’s an old school, all around fighter. If anyone can give Golovkin something to worry about, it’s Jacobs. If Golovkin walks through him, then Golovkin just might be the real deal. He’d have to step up to super middleweight at least to get more of a match. You’re forgetting that Golovkin is getting old now. He’s 34. He had a long amateur career,” said Froch.
There are a lot of unknowns with this fight. Can Golovkin handle Jacobs’ punching power long enough to get him out of there with one of his big power shots? Can Jacobs handle getting hit by Golovkin? In Golovkin’s last fight against Kell Brook, he didn’t look all that powerful with most of the punches he threw. Golovkin was also missing a lot of the punches he threw in the fight.
If Jacobs is able to land with better accuracy, he could beat Golovkin. Jacobs has a better chance of winning a decision. That should be his entire focus. If Jacobs and his training team are going into the fight thinking they’re going to score a knockout, they could be mistaken.
Froch is correct in pointing out Golovkin’s age as a potential issue for him against Jacobs. Golovkin is 34 now, and that’s an age where fighters start to come unglued when facing younger opposition. Jacobs is hitting his prime at 29, and he’s catching Golovkin at the right point.