Golovkin vs. Jacobs: Can Daniel handle Gennady’s power?

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By Jeff Aranow: 7 days from now, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin 36-0, 33 KOs) and Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) will be trading bombs on March 18 on HBO PPV at Madison Square Garden in New York. These are two of the biggest punchers in the middleweight division. Jacobs is seen as the underdog in the fight largely because of his shaky chin that has let him down in the past in his loss to Dmitri Pirog seven years ago.

Jacobs has all of his fights since that defeat, but there remains doubt with the boxing public whether he can handle the power of a huge puncher like Golovkin. Jacobs’ fighting style is largely one based on power punching. Jacobs can definitely box at times, but he’s not at level of a Floyd Mayweather Jr. when it comes to his ability to keep getting hit. If Jacobs can’t move enough to escape the pressure of Golovkin, then he’s going to be forced to brawl on March 18. That magic question is whether Jacobs will be able to handle the big power shots of Golovkin.

Middleweight contender Peter Quillin sees this as big test Golovkin and Jacobs. He’s sparred with both of them, but he’s not willing to pick a winner in the fight. Quillin says the pressure that Golovkin put on him during the sparring session was very strong and made him more difficult to deal with.

“This is a fight that people wanted to see Gennady Golovkin in,” said Peter Quillin to Fighthub.com about Golovkin’s fight against Jacobs. “They wanted to see him in a top middleweight fight. This is that fight. Golovkin is probably the best out there. Danny has got a big test on his hands. They both can punch, so I definitely don’t see it going the distance. I sparred Golovkin. At the time, we were both coming up. I’d heard about him, but I’d never met him. I thought this isn’t like the [expletive] they’re talking about this dude. His presence when I was in the ring with him was very, very strong. He was in front of you at all times. He was cutting off the ring, that’s what he loves to do. Danny has the ability to box, but Golovkin has the fundamentals as well because of his amateur background. I sparred him, Golovkin and Chavez on the same day. With 10 oz. gloves, it’s going to make him a devastating puncher,” said Quillin.

If Jacobs can’t handle the pressure that Golovkin puts on him, it’s going to be an early night for him on March 18. Jacobs has been talking a lot about his game plan for the fight, which he believes will nullify Golovkin’s power and pressure. Golovkin has his own fight plan that his trainer Abel Sanchez has put together. It’s likely to involve a lot smart pressure in which he jabs Jacobs frequently to soften him up.

When Golovkin does eventually start throwing his power shots, he’s likely going to be putting everything he has in them. He can’t take it easy on Jacobs because he’s too dangerous. It’s going to be hard on Jacobs if Golovkin nailing him with the kind of power that he’s never had to deal with before in his career. If Jacobs’ chin hasn’t improved since his loss to Pirog, he’s going to knocked out fairly early by Golovkin.

This could wind up being one of Golovkin’s easier fights of his career if Jacobs can’t handle his power for any length of time. Jacobs did not react well at all in the past when facing Pirog. What happens with Jacobs when he starts getting hit hard by Golovkin? Does he crumble or can take the power shots long enough to hurt him with one his big punches.

Jacobs weighed in at 167.8 pounds at the 7-day weigh-in compared to Golovkin’s 162. Golovkin is almost making weight right now for the fight. Jacobs is going to need to drop close to 8 pounds in the next 6 days to get all the weight off by this Friday. At the 30-day weigh-in, Jacobs came in at 174 lbs. That’s likely going to be the neighborhood that Jacobs rehydrates to for the fight on Saturday. Jacobs is a big middleweight, who probably should be fighting at super middleweight. Fighting in that weight division wouldn’t let Jacobs enjoy a weight advantage over his opponents though. He would need to beat his opposition based on talent rather than weight.