Is GGG hype train over?
Brooklyn March 18 at Madison Square Garden. The two best middleweights in the world got together to establish the top middleweight in the world.
The atmosphere was electric in a packed out Madison Square Garden.
Gennady Golovkin won a unanimous decision against Daniel Jacobs, but some observers saw the tight fight differently and his composure and timing were suspects. Photograph: Noah K Murray/USA Today Sports
Michael Buffer, the custodian of delivering the introduction to the vast majority of major boxing events introduced the two fighters. The script had been written. GGG was a heavy favorite leading into the fight.
The first few rounds were tentative with both boxers appearing to be cautious of each other’s power and GGG did not appear to be the monster in the division he is made out to be. Most respected commentators gave Daniel Jacobs the first 3 rounds simply due to the way he was making GGG miss, fighting at range and his constant lateral movement.
It was in the fourth that GGG finally caught him with two right hands that sent Jacobs reeling onto the canvas. However, it didn’t effect Jacobs that much and he had recovered soon enough.
Over the next 8 rounds, it was to and fro between the two champs, GGG the aggressor whilst Jacobs was the boxer fighting on the back foot. Jacobs was routinely told by his corner to stick to the game plan & not engage GGG, the reason for his knockdown and one which his trainer told him “was totally unnecessary”.
In the later stages of the fight, Jacobs actually had GGG on the back foot, something that GGG didn’t seem to be accustomed to and certainly didn’t deal with too well. Two of the judges gave Jacobs the last three rounds whilst one gave him two.
I gave Jacobs the fight by two rounds because he simply outboxed GGG, made him miss and took away the sense of invincibility. Whatever happened what we can say is that the first time GGG had his first stern test, he fell short. Is the hype train over?