By Allan Fox: This Saturday night, middleweight knockout artist Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) needs a victory over Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) to reserve a spot for a big money fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September. Even if Canelo and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions decide that they’re willing to take the fight at that time, a victory for Golovkin over Jacobs still means a lot.
The win will help create more opportunities for Golovkin, and perhaps turn him into a PPV attraction in his own right depending on how many buys Jacob fight brings in on HBO. This is Golovkin’s second PPV fight of his career. His previous effort against David Lemieux hauled in 150,000 buys two years ago in 2015. Some boxing fans saw those are poor numbers, but they’re comparable to the initial efforts that we saw from Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. when they first started out in the pay-per-view industry
“If he is successful on March 18th it will open a lot of doors for him,” Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler said to Fightnews.com. “Golden Boy said they are ready for September,” said Loeffler.
Provided that Golovkin beats Jacobs and Canelo wins his next fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on May 6, then there shouldn’t be any reason for the two of them not to face each other in September. The only way the fight doesn’t happen is if the money isn’t right. Loeffler says he wants to make sure that Golovkin is given a fair deal for the Canelo fight. Given the interest on Golden Boy’s part in making the Canelo vs. Golovkin fight, it looks like the match will go ahead in September if the two of them win their next fights.
Golovkin has the tougher task to beat Jacobs, who is the No.2 fighter in the middleweight division, and both bigger and faster than him. In contrast, Canelo is facing Chavez Jr., who is probably isn’t even the No.5 fighter in the super middleweight division right now. Chavez Jr. is a good fighter from the past, but his best years after well behind him at this point in his career. After getting a big payday in his fight against Sergio Martinez in 2012, Chavez Jr. has seemingly backed off from facing major competition for some reason.
Chavez Jr. has moved up to the 168lb division, and he’s fought only one good fighter in the last 5 years in Andrezej Fonfara. Chavez Jr. is going into the Canelo fight at a huge disadvantage in terms of the weight for the fight, which will be taking place at a catch-weight of 164 ½ pounds, and with his sharpness.
“Right now I am 100 percent focused on Daniel,” Golovkin said to Fightnews.com. “There was too much talk last year Canelo, Golden Boy, Chavez, Froch, Sanders, and Eubank it was crazy. So I fought Brook, everyone talks but no one wanted to fight,” Golovkin said.
Last year, Golovkin wanted fights against Canelo, Carl Froch, Chris Eubank Jr. and Billy Joe Saunders. Instead of getting any of those guys to accept a fight against him, Golovkin struck out and was left facing welterweight Kell Brook. That was no win situation for Golovkin. No matter what the outcome, Golovkin wasn’t going to receive credit for beating Brook. Sure enough, Golovkin stopped Brook in 5 rounds, but he was dumped on by many boxing fans for getting hit so much during the contest. Brook was the one that came out of the fight with lots of praise, even though he was the loser.
In facing Jacobs, Golovkin is finally battling an opponent that he will surely receive credit if he beats him on Saturday night. It’s a potentially tough fight for Golovkin, and one that he could possibly lose. If Golovkin is able to get through this match while looking good in doing so, then he’s going to see his career taken to the next level. That’s the good news.
Loeffler will be right. The doors will be open for Golovkin is he defeats Jacobs in style. He’ll have more boxing fans after Saturday night, and it will put him in position where he can get other important fights. If Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions decide that they don’t want to take the Golovkin fight at this time due to him looking too good, then he can at least move forward and get other popular fighters that are willing to face him. He won’t be stuck fighting the lesser talented fighters in the middleweight division like he’s been.
“We’re going to be equipped with all the tools to go to war to make sure whatever he brings to the table, we’ll be able to counter it,” said Jacobs about Golovkin to RingTV.com. “It helps that I bring all these different assets to the table, because if one doesn’t work, we’ll be able to go to the next. It’s all about adjusting. You have to have something to fall back on. You have to have a Plan B or a Plan C so that you can be victorious. One dimensional is not good. They can’t say my offense against Golovkin’s offense, I won’t win,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs needs to make sure that he doesn’t over-think his job on Saturday night against Golovkin. Jacobs seems to be preoccupied with the business of having a Plan B and Plan C game plan for the Golovkin fight. What don’t want to see is Jacobs giving up on his Plan A fight strategy too soon. Jacobs’ initial game plan will likely be his best chance of success. If Jacobs gives up on I too soon because it’s not working, he could be going down the wrong road if he needlessly switches to a Plan B. Golovkin might simply be too good for any of Jacobs’ plans that he has.
Golovkin isn’t going to over-think what he’s doing inside the ring on Saturday night. He’s going to box Jacobs at range using his jab or he’s going to go after him and try stop him with his power game. Golovkin won’t go into a panic if one fight strategy isn’t working for him. He’s going to stay calm and try seething different. Jacobs needs to do what he does best, and not get lost on rifling through different game plans. Jacobs seems to be at his best when he’s standing and slugging with his opponents.
If Jacobs goes away from that for the Golovkin fight, he might wind up in the same situation as he was when he was blown out in 5 rounds by Dmitir Pirog in 2010. Jacobs tried to slug with Pirog initially, and then he quickly gave up on that plan and started boxing him. That was a mistake. Jacobs was doing better when he was punching and standing his ground with Pirog. Once Jacobs started moving backwards, he was at the mercy of Pirog. Jacobs can’t make the same mistake against Golovkin if he wants to win this fight.
When asked about Golovkin’s flaws in his game, Jacobs said, “I think everyone can see the flaws. I think so many people are captivated by his power that they ignore the obvious flaws. My game plan is to be my best me, and what I bring to the table, and minimize his strengths. If I can be great with my defense, then I really look forward to a great night,” said Jacobs.