Congratulations to two classy warriors who gave us a terrific effort at Madison Square Garden last weekend. Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs put on a show that while not a war, was entertaining and correctly scored.
If boxing regularly had nights like that MMA would still be a niche sport. Gennady Golovkin retained his unified middleweight championship with a competitive unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs.
I had it 116-111 for the champ. Some had it a little closer with the 4th round knockdown of Jacobs being the difference (I gave both the first 2 completely uneventful rounds to Golovkin because he is the champ).
Some media scored the fight for Jacobs. He fought really well, showed his courage and his stock went up in the loss (wish more fighters and promoters would realize this can happen) but sometimes when a fighter with Golovkin’s knockout dominance is challenged, people think he lost the fight. I believe this happened in the Hagler-Leonard fight to some degree.
Jacobs felt he won and I have no problem with that. Anytime a fight is this competitive, both fighters and their teams each feel they won.
But the judges got this one right. Jacobs proved he is elite and Golovkin proved he can gut it out in deep waters when an opponent does not wilt to his power.
However, GGG also looks like age is beginning to creep up on him. He turns 35 on April 8th. That was once over-the-hill for a fighter.
Golovkin is still terrific, but he is on the other side of his physical prime. The fact he is now being challenged by better fighters like Jacobs and Kell Brook accentuate this.
The fight did over 170,000 buys which is not great, but not terrible considering it was up against college basketball. Why boxing does not flood the month of February with big fights when sports fans have little to watch is beyond me.
If this fight took place a month ago these guys may have ended up on the cover of Sports Illustrated. So, what’s next for these two? A rematch is justifiable but I’d prefer to see it a little down the road.
I think the perfect fight for Jacobs right now is with David Lemieux. Lemieux was stopped by Golovkin but has looked impressive since, especially his last fight with a devastating knockout of Curtis Stevenson.
The winner of that fight would put himself in line for a rematch with GGG, especially if Jacobs wins. He would be the favorite, but Lemieux can really punch!
Golovkin wants to stay active. I love this about him. Most established fighters fight twice per year these days. The Kazakh warrior is hoping to get WBO paper champion Billy Joe Saunders (in my last article I mistakenly called Saunders the IBF champion; Golovkin has the IBF belt) in June for the undisputed title.
Saunders is calling for Golovkin again; let’s see if Jacobs’ performance gets the Brit to actually put his name on the contract this time. Should Golovkin take care of business in that fight, and if Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defeats Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in May (no guarantee) there will be great demand for Golovkin-Canelo in September.
One thing I would want to avoid if I were with Team Golovkin is fighting Saunders in Great Britain. I would not trust the judging over there with a possible Canelo fight looming.
They were fixing to rob GGG when he went to England to fight Kell Brook last September. Two judges had it even through 4 rounds, and another had it 39-37 in Brook’s favor before he was stopped in the 5th.
Bring the fight to Kazakhstan, knock him out, then go get the red-haired Mexican. If Golovkin defeats Canelo or can’t get him in the ring, and Jacobs continues to win I’d like a rematch.
Golovkin will be a year older at that point and these two now know each other better than their own mothers in some ways. Will GGG’s age and Jacobs confidence turn the tide? Or would Jacobs confidence make him more vulnerable to a possibly more aggressive champion? Time will tell. Whatever happens, thanks to these two throwbacks for a terrific show. Talk soon.
-Marksman
PS: If you tuned in to the NCAA Wrestling Championships last week you saw Cory Clark (Iowa) win the 133 lb. title with a torn ligament in his hand and a shoulder that popped out twice during the season.
That was following Olympic Gold Medalist Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) winning the heavyweight crown (his 3rd) with a rib cage injury. Remember these guys in May when baseball players making tens of millions per year are sitting out a month with a strained quad.
PPS: Check out 60 minutes this Sunday on CBS. They are running a segment on fake news. Mike Cernovich (http://www.dangerandplay.com) will be featured. He was instrumental to Trump’s election.