Danny Jacobs Looks to Defy the Odds Against Gennady Golovkin

The Battle at the Garden


If you don't know who the knockout machine Gennady Golovkin or Triple G is by now, then you've obviously been living under a rock. The guy has been storming through the middle weight division like a tornado in a trailer park. His knockout ratio is among the highest in boxing. He's humble and down to earth. You probably haven't heard of him because he's not loud or flamboyant. He's all about business and knocking the next opponent out. Most boxing fans believe GGG is going to beat Daniel Jacobs the way he has all the others...by knockout. 

Danny Jacobs knows who GGG is and what he's all about. He knows if he's not on his A-game then he'll be beaten and knocked out like the others have been. I expect for this reason that he will be sharp and as ready to fight as he's ever been. I think he knew he needed to be sharp against Peter Quillin and he proved to be just that. I think that's how he will be against GGG, and making this the toughest fight Golovkin has faced to date. Jacobs knows that GGG will cutoff the ring and come right after him. He moves well enough to evade the damaging punches and create countering opportunities others haven't been able to find. 

In Golovkin's last fight he faced a blown up welterweight champion, Kell Brook. The added weight didn't hinder Brook and he was out boxing the middleweight champion. I suspect that Golovkin knew the shots weren't going to knock him out, but he made boxing fans wonder what would happen if a true middleweight put it on him like that? Danny Jacobs is the guy who could do that and answer that question. He's got the hand speed and the footwork to box Golovkin. GGG cuts the ring off better than any other fighter in boxing, but Jacobs has good pivots and faint moves that could keep GGG off balance. He can turn GGG and turn the aggression against him. 




My Prediction

I do think that Danny Jacobs has the abilities to test GGG. He could test him in ways that he hasn't been tested up til now. David Lemieux has arguably GGG's toughest opponent so far, and where Jacobs doesn't hit with the force that Lemieux does, he's actually got better movement and ability to box and counter. Jacobs doesn't have to try to beat him at his own game. Jacobs can move and box him essentially taking the fight out of his hands. The problem is that he has to keep from getting caught by a fighter who has caught almost everyone he's faced. 

GGG cuts the ring off and hits his opponents with shots that have been compared with those of a cruiserweight. When he corners and traps Jacobs he's going to land those powerful shots and he's not going to take them any better than any of the others have done. I honestly believe Jacobs will test him and make a competitive fight out of it, but I don't think he's going to be the first fighter to beat Golovkin. GGG may have trouble getting a solid shot on Danny, but he'll get him. I think GGG knocks him out mid to late fight. 

Keith Thurman vs Danny Garcia: The Battle of Unbeaten Champions

This will be a fight that separates the top fighters in the 147 division. This is the biggest test Danny Garcia has faced since moving up to the welterweight division. Keith Thurman has answered every challenge put in front of him so far. That includes his biggest win to date over Shawn Porter. 

Both fighters have faced some tough opposition, but neither has faced the kind of fighter that they'll see in each other. Danny Garcia faced his toughest opponents at 140 lbs. There are those who believe he should have two losses on his record as he moved up to welterweight. It's my opinion that he lost to Mauricio Herrera and Lamont Peterson. I also believe that Garcia's 16th fight against Ashley Theophane should have been a draw. 

Despite the fact that I think Danny should have 2 losses and a draw on his record, he's still an incredible fighter. He may not wow you in any one area, but Garcia is a fundamentally a great fighter and does everything at an above average level. Thurman has faced a complete fighter in Shawn Porter, but I think that Porter is more limited in terms of skill than Garcia. I'm not saying that I think Garcia wins against Porter in a head to head battle, but I think Garcia is the better textbook fighter. 

Keith Thurman who goes by One Time, is exactly what his name indicates. He's got very powerful shots and knows how to land them. Some guys would have to land the perfect shot to knock a guy out, but Keith Thurman just needs to catch them a little. His body has been questioned, as he's shown that he can be caught there. I don't think that Thurman is necessarily weak to the body, but it's more of a case of him just getting caught in the body with good shots instead of the head. If they'd gotten in up stairs we'd be questioning his chin. I think all roads point to Thurman vs. Spence, and we'll find out for sure then whether or not Thurman can handle real body shots. 

Danny Garcia can box or he can brawl on the inside. He can be the aggressor and he can sit back and counter another top level fighter all night long. As I'd said earlier I don't think Danny's record should be perfect, but I do recognize him as an elite level fighter. He really is one of the most well rounded fighters out there. He isn't the best at any one thing, but he's well above average at everything. He's consistent and makes the right decisions and adjustments. Never mind what I might think Danny Garcia is undefeated and has passed every test put before him so far, but none of those guys were Keith Thurman. 




Fight Prediction

Danny Garcia can box with Keith Thurman. There is no doubt Garcia has the tools to give Thurman hell from the outside. The problem for Danny is that Keith Thurman is going to get in close and that's not where Garcia wants to be. If that's where it goes, and I think it will, Danny Garcia will want it to go there. He has a better than average defense, but if there was one thing that you had to find wrong with him it'd be his defense. He's there to be hit and hit hard throughout a fight. If he lets his guard down against Thurman he will be knocked out. The best thing that Garcia could do is counter off of a good defense, but that's not what I think he'll do. 

The Garcia camp believes the hype. They think Thurman is weak to the body and plan on testing him there. That puts him in a bad place against Thurman. To really test the body he'll have to fight Thurman on the inside, and that's all wrong for Danny. I think Thurman would knock him out in that type of fight. I think that's where the fight will end up because of both fighters willingness to go there. Garcia believes he really has a shot on the inside, and Keith would be all too willing to trade power shots on the inside with Danny. That's where I see the fight going and I don't see any way that Garcia wins that kind of fight.