By Jim Dower: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) and Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) met on Friday for their official weigh-in for Saturday night’s fight at Madison Square Garden in New York. Golovkin weighed in at 159.6 pounds and looked very good. He didn’t have the drained look and the dark circles under his eyes that he had at his weigh-in for his last fight against Kell Brook last September.
Golovkin was rumored to be ill in the week of the weigh-in for the Brook fight, which might explain the dark circles under his eyes. Jacobs weighed in at 159.8 lbs. Jacobs looked as good as he has for his past fights. During the face off, Jacobs stared intensely into the eyes of Golovkin in what appeared to be an old fashioned attempt at intimidating him.
Golovkin didn’t seem afraid. If Jacobs’ goal was to scare him enough for him to gain an edge over him, I don’t think it worked. Golovkin isn’t going to be afraid to throw punches on Saturday because of Jacobs glaring at him. It’s going to take more than intimidation to win this fight for Jacobs. He’s going to need to fight hard and show a good chin. Jacobs’ chances of winning the fight could come down to his ability to take the hard punches from Triple G. Jacobs has been hurt in many of his fights in the past, and those were against guys without GGG’s power.
The 6’0” Jacobs, 29, is the taller fighter than the 5’10 ½” Golovkin by a little over an inch, and he’s likely going to be heavier as well. Jacobs could come into the fight as high as 175 lbs. on Saturday. Golovkin will likely be no more than 165lbs. There will be a weight advantage for Jacobs, but not enough for him to take advantage of it. 10 lbs. is still reasonable. If Jacobs comes into the fight on Saturday with a 15 pound weight advantage over Golovkin, then it could be a different story.
Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez isn’t worried about Jacobs’ weight at all for this fight. He says that Golovkin has been fighting guys heavier throughout his boxing career, and this fight will be no different than the ones in the past. What is different is the blend of size, speed, power and talent that Jacobs has. He’s a better fighter than the guys that Golovkin has fought in the past, and that changes the entire dynamics of the fight.
“[Golovkin] has learned to adapt to the bigger guys because that is what he has had to do his whole career,” Sanchez said to cbssports.com. “Danny’s size has not been my concern, his punching power has been my concern because he can crack. It’s just a matter of seeing what we have in front of us in the beginning and being able to deal with him. Until we get in the ring and Danny feels his power and Gennady feels Danny’s power, we won’t know if that is going to make a difference.”
Jacobs is at his best when he’s on the outside where he can get maximum leverage on his power shots. Golovkin will need to stay close to him if he wants to keep him from loading up on his punches. At the same time, Golovkin will need to keep his guard up at all times when he’s in close because Jacobs is capable of nailing with big shots in close. In Jacobs’ first fight against Sergio Mora in 2015, he dropped him with a short punch with huge power in close. Mora wasn’t expecting the sudden power at close range, and he was bowled over by the punch.
Golovkin will need to be ready for Jacobs’ hard punches at all times no matter what range the two fighters are fighting at. Golovkin will still be better off if he’s at shot to medium range so that he can get his punches off and not have to deal with Jacobs’ best shots. For Jacobs, he has to try and keep the fight on the outside where he can take advantage of his longer reach. It’s going to require that Jacobs move around the ring to keep Golovkin from working his way to the inside like he normally does.
In other weights on the card, WBC super flyweight champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (46-0, 38 KOs) weighed at 114 ½ lbs. for his title defense against #2 WBC Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (41-4-1, 38 KOs). For his part, the 30-year-old Rungvisai weighed in at 114 lbs. This is the biggest puncher of Gonzalez’s career. Gonzalez faced the hard hitting Carlos Cuadras in his last fight, but Rungvisai is clearly the harder puncher compared to him. Gonzalez is going to need to use some of his boxing skills for him to beat Rungvisai without getting hurt or beaten up by him. Cuadras beat Rungvisai in 2014 by using movement, and quick shots. He didn’t stay in the pocket to slug with him.
Former WBC super flyweight champion Carlos Cuadras (35-1-1, 27 KOs) weighed in at 115.6 lbs. for his non-title fight against former world title challenger David Carmona (20-3-5, 8 KOs) for their 8 round fight. Carmona weighed in a 115.8 lbs. Both fighters are coming off of losses. Cuadras lost his last fight to Roman Gonzalez by a 12 round unanimous decision last September. Carmona was beaten by WBO World super flyweight champion Naoya Inoue by a 12 round unanimous decision last May.
Other weights on the card:
Ryan Martin 134.6 vs. Bryant Cruz 135
The Golovkin vs. Jacobs card will be televised on HBO pay-per-view. The venue for the fight is at Madison Square Garden, New York City