Golovkin Speaks Of “Very Serious” Jacobs On Media Call
By: Sean Crose
“I think when you have the right matchups in boxing,” K2 Promotions Tom Loeffler said Tuesday on a media conference call, “the fans respond.” Serious fight fans will surely be responding to next weekend’s Gennady Golovkin-Daniel Jacobs middleweight title throwdown in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Although the bout may not be a pay per view bonanza, it promises two top level fighters who can turn out the lights in the blink of an eye. It’s also telling that Golovkin, who was also on the call, is being groomed to be a top attraction – albeit slowly, thanks to a serious case of cold feet that seems to come over potential opponents before it’s time to sign a contract to face the man.
“I’ve never seen him hit nobody 100%,” said Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, a man who comes across more like a polite, if not opinioned, guy next door than a top level corner man. “If I had a fighter that was so defensive he bored people to death,” Sanchez added later, “we wouldn’t be talking right now.” Golovkin is far from a boring fighter. At 36-0 with 33 knockouts, the man is a one man knockout machine. The 32-1 Daniel Jacobs, however, is a KO artist in his own right, having dusted all but four of his own opponents.
“Danny’s size has not been my concern,” Sanchez said, “but his punching power has been my concern because he can crack.” Golovkin himself is clearly aware of the threat the hard hitting product of Brooklyn is. “He’s a very good boxer and a very good man,” said Golovkin, later stating of Jacobs that “he’s the best,” out of the opponents he’s faced. Not that Golovkin is viewing Jacobs all that differently than he has his other foes. “We don’t change anything according to the opponent,” claimed Sanchez, who also stated that Golovkin is “one of those guys I’m fortunate to have in the gym because the other guys want to train like him.”
There was more than just talk of Jacobs on the call, however. Canelo Alvarez, who’s supposed to be facing Golovkin in the fall (provided both men emerge victorious from any bouts they have before then) was, of course, mentioned. As was Floyd Mayweather, who had some sharp criticism for Golovkin recently, claiming the man is vulnerable and not that great with his feet. “If he is so flat footed,” said Sanchez, “if he is so beatable, he (Floyd) just needs to call Tom Loeffler.” I asked both fighter and trainer what they had to say about the belief that Jacobs is a greater threat than Canelo might be.
“I don’t think Canelo is the puncher that Jacobs is,” Sanchez responded, adding that “they’re both very good fighters in their own right.” Golovkin himself answered that “Every fight is different. Every fighter is different,” adding that each fighter is “very serious.”
“Right now,” Golovkin concluded, “my focus is on Daniel Jacobs.”
