Eaton Thatcher
Gennady Golovkin (-350) vs Daniel Jacobs (+275), Draw (+2000)
The details have finally been negotiated. WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KO) will fight WBA (Regular) middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KO) on March 18th at Madison Square Garden.
The fight was ordered by WBA and has been in the works for some time now, with both camps constantly vying for a better deal. Originally, it was scheduled for December 10th, but as both sides failed to reach an agreement, it became clear the fight would not occur in 2016. Finally, the WBA ordered a purse bid deadline to put an end to the negotiations, and the two camps privately came to an agreement.
Jacobs will be the biggest name Golovkin has faced so far. The Kazakhstani has spent his entire career trying to pull in high profile fights, only to have the top fighters in his weight class duck his challenge, or opt for a higher profile opponent. This fight against Jacobs will only be his second HBO Pay-Per-View event in his ten years professional boxing career.
It was a quiet year for Triple G. He made easy work of Dominic Wade and Kell Brook, but had the rest of his year tied up with negotiations. First it was with Chris Eubank Jr, who pulled out at the last minute, and the remainder was spent trying to make the Jacobs fight happen. It’s also rumoured he’s been in talks with Saul Canelo Alvarez for a potential bout late next year.
Daniel Jacobs only fought once in 2016, easily defeating Sergio Mora for the second time. But his biggest victory came last year when he defeated the unbeaten former champion Peter Quillin by knockout in the first round. His only loss came at the hands of former undefeated middleweight champion Dmitry Pirog back in 2010.
Jacobs and Golovkin are two heavy-handed hitters, both ending the majority of their fights by way of knockout. But while Golovkin has never even been knocked down in his professional career, it’s a common theme for Jacobs. His relatively weak chin will leave him vulnerable in this bout against Golovkin, who is currently on a 23-fight knockout streak.
Pick: Gennady Golovkin (-350)
Photo credit: “Steve Franjic vs Wayne Tyler” by MartialArtsNomad CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Flickr.
