Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Jacobs Odds and Prediction

They’re calling it Middleweight Madness in the Mecca of Boxing.

It may not be as massive as the Canelo vs GGG match-up would’ve been but this is the first legitimate middleweight title fight in years. Not only that, it is the best middleweight matchup that could be made today.

Unification

In a year of title unifications, boxing’s unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin looks to add Daniel Jacob’s WBA (regular) title to his collection. If he wins, Golovkin doesn’t just become the WBA’s lone champion, he will also be two belts short of achieving his dream as an undisputed world champion. Only the WBO belt, now owned by Billie Joe Saunders and the Lineal title, held by Canelo Alvarez will then be not in the Kazakh’s hands.

Golovkin is the universally recognized middleweight champion and lays claim to the WBC, IBF, WBA ( Super ) and IBO belts. Along the way, Triple G has bulldozed past his opposition, knocking out all but three of his 36 opponents in the professional boxing ring. At 91.7%, he holds the highest knockout rate in boxing’s middleweight history. On March 18th, he hopes to add one more name to that list.

Miracle Man

Daniel Jacobs’ monicker Miracle Man was conceived because he overcame a form of cancer to win a world title. Jacobs has won 12 fights in a row since losing to Dmitry Pirog in 2010 and he’s won all of them by knockout. Now he fights the division’s boogeyman in a title bout that is set to decide the best middleweight in the planet.

At 6-0 and with a 73-inch reach, Jacobs size has been an advantage over his past opponents and it will be so against Golovkin. He has good movement plus legit punching power so he won’t be like any of the opponents that Gennady Golovkin has dismantled. But the catch with Jacobs is that he has a weak chin which failed him against Pirog and which had him dropped against Sergio Mora recently.

Odds

Golovkin is heavily favored here at -800 while Jacobs is pegged at +450. The odds are a little bit over the top, considering Jacobs’ abilities. In between his bouts with Sergio Mora, Jacobs annihilated then unbeaten Peter Quillin in just one round in the Battle of New York in 2015. Twelve straight knockout wins isn’t a fluke and so is Daniel Jacobs. But then again, his opponent has racked up 23 straight KOs himself and has a streak of KOs dating back to 2008.

The thing with Golovkin is that his fight resume isn’t that good. But the reason is because he is the most avoided boxer in the planet. In his most recent bout, welterweight champion Kell Brook ‘exposed’ Golovkin before waving the white flag in Round 5. Brook showed that with speed and movement, Golovkin can be hit. Like Brook, Jacobs can frustrate Golovkin with his boxing. But Golovkin is a relentless predator who has a chin that has withstood over 300 amateur bouts and his entire professional career. It’s interesting if Jacobs can keep up with GGG’s pace and brawling style.

It’s true that Danny Jacobs is the best fighter that Gennady Golovkin will have ever faced. But the real question is whether he is good enough to beat Triple G. We think not. We’re picking Golovkin to win by another knockout