“GGG” Golovkin Remains Undefeated, Drops Jacobs En Route To Victory

Gennady Golovkin’s fight with Daniel Jacobs got off to a controversial start long before the opening bell rang when Jacobs failed to attend the fight night weigh-ins on Saturday morning. As a result, Jacobs walked into the ring on Saturday night knowing he could not win GGG’s IBF Middleweight Championship.

The fight got off to a hot start with GGG taking the center of the ring, chasing Jacobs down. Neither man took big chances in the opening moments of round one, silently agreeing to undergo a brief feeling out process.

Jacobs’ jab landed through the center of GGG’s guard multiple times, but it was not an issue and he dodged other dangerous shots. GGG started to establish his jab in the final minute of the second round, forcing Jacobs to think twice about the shots that he threw. The feeling out process ended by the end of the second round, with more shots landing in the third.

GGG knocked Jacobs down in the first minute of the fourth round, and Jacobs was able to answer the standing count. GGG landed freely from there, forcing Jacobs into the corner while picking him apart. Jacobs’ reserve kept him standing and within a minute he was firing off counter punches. GGG turned down the aggression so he didn’t blow his gas tank. A left-hand and right-hand combination landed for GGG with just ten seconds remaining, but Jacobs showed he was unphased by throwing aggressive overhand rights. They didn’t land, but it showed he still had enough wherewithal to keep the fight going.

GGG landed the right hand at the start of the fifth round, bringing the crowd to their feet. The shot didn’t wobble Jacobs, but the obvious momentum gain for GGG impacted his approach. Neither fighter landed anything worthy of a knockdown in the fifth, but Jacobs did show he was fully recovered from the knockdown in the fourth.

The sixth round saw GGG land punches en masse, but Jacobs landed some great powershots throughout the round.

As soon as GGG started to gain momentum in the seventh round, Jacobs’ attack on the body of GGG slowed him down. An overhand right landed for Jacobs, but it wasn’t long before GGG landed one of his own. By the time there were fifteen seconds remaining in the seventh, Jacobs had landed more shots in total. The two continued to throw shots after the bell due to aggression but it was a non-issue when the referee stepped in to push them apart, sending them back to their corners to prepare for the eighth.

Whenever Jacobs was trapped in the corner or along the ropes, he did a fantastic job at parrying GGG’s attacks and making his way back to the center of the ring. Jacobs kicked off the eighth round by doing just that, giving GGG the advantage solely because he was able to dictate where the fight went. A four punch combination from Jacobs pushed GGG back, forcing GGG to shake his head after the flurry was over. GGG’s mannerisms read that of someone knowing that the fight was close, but he was not dodging shots he felt he should have.

Perhaps it was the size advantage of Jacobs that aided him in coming out on top in some exchanges, but there was no doubt that his gas tank and aggression aided him in the fight.

It was Jacobs who came out aggressive again in the ninth round, throwing a combination that GGG blocked with ease. The rest of the round saw neither fighter land anything dangerous until the final thirty seconds of the round when GGG let out a flurry of punches that would land any normal man. While Jacobs was able to absorb the punishment and make it to the tenth, he essentially donated the ninth to GGG when he tried to showboat and flashily dodge his way out of GGG’s range.

The tenth round was more of a wash than anything, with neither fighter landing anything decisive. In the last ten seconds of the round, Jacobs landed a nice left hook which called for GGG to answer with a wild shot of his own. It missed, Jacobs taunted him and was tagged in the stomach. By the time Jacobs walked back to his corner in between the tenth and eleventh, his coach had yelled at him for getting careless in his defense.

GGG was more aggressive than he had been all fight in the eleventh, but his aggression diminished as the round progressed. Both fighters landed down the stretch, but Jacobs took the round and it all came down to the twelfth and final round to decide the fate of the middleweight championships.

GGG kicked off the round with a nice straight right hand, and both fighters clinched often to ride out the round. They did not rest or let stay in the clinch long, as they went shot for shot and traded major shots for the opening two minutes of the final round. The momentum could have laid in either corner, but the crowd believed it was Jacobs’ fight to lose.

Gennady Golovkin def. Daniel Jacobs by way of Unanimous Decision (115-112, 115-112, 114-113)