Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Jacobs: Fight Odds, Analysis and Prediction
Via Magna Media

Gennady Golovkin, considered the pound for pound best in boxing by many, and Daniel Jacobs fight to unify middleweight championships Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Known as “Triple G”, Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KO’s) has spent the better part of the decade absolutely laying waste to the Middleweight division. He’s run up 17 consecutive stoppages inside the distance since capturing his first of four title belts back in December 2010 when he knocked out Milton Nunez in the 1st round to win the WBA strap. The Kazakhstan native hasn’t gone the distance in a fight since 2008; the closest call coming in an 11th round TKO of Martin Murray back in February 2015.

Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KO’s) has been dominant in his own right, going undefeated in his last 12 bouts after a 5th round TKO loss at the hands of Dimitry Pirog back in July 2010. “The Golden Child” has certainly dealt with his fair share of adversity. He fought a bigger battle than any boxing match in overcoming Osteosarcoma, a rare, life-threatening form of bone cancer back in 2011, and returned to the ring less than a year later. Jacobs hasn’t had a fight go to the scorecards since 2009, and aside from a 12th round KO of Caleb Truax in April 2015, has finished most of his opponents before the halfway point of the contest.

Fight Odds and Info

  • Gennady Golovkin (-700) vs Daniel Jacobs (+550)
  • Date: Saturday, March 18th, 2017
  • Venue: Madison Square Garden, NYC
  • Tickets: www.thegarden.com
  • Time: 11:00 PM EST
  • TV: HBO Pay-Per-View (Contact your Cable or Satellite Provider)

Prediction

Both fighters possess hand speed and power, but the overall skill set Golovkin brings to the ring is as impressive as any in the fight game today.

Jacobs is a legit contender that deserves to be in this fight with “GGG” and will need to swarm the champ early to have a chance at the upset, but I don’t expect Golovkin to give “The Golden Boy” too much of a chance to shine. I have “GGG” winning this fight by TKO, but both guys have a ton of heart and despite their penchant for quick finishes, I would have to look at this bout making it over 7.5 Rounds at +130.

Golovkin has had five of his last nine fights go past six rounds before finishing, and Jacobs went into the seventh round in his last bout against Sergio Mora, despite the challenger hurting his ankle in Round 2 of that contest, which is what ultimately ended the evening. Bet the over 7.5 Rounds on Saturday night at the Garden.

Alex B. Smith has been a Sports Handicapper since 2011. Emerging as one of the top up-and-coming Handicappers in the business, Smith has been heavily featured in Print and Radio Media over the years, Doing various interviews with WagerTalk on SB Nation Radio, PreGame.com, SportsXRadio on the Yahoo Sports Radio Network and on ESPN 1100 Radio in Las Vegas, Nevada, KDWN 720 in Las Vegas, Nevada, 93.7 The Ticket FM in Lincoln, Nebraska along with interviews & articles published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper. In addition to currently co-hosting "The Box Seats" with Bob Sullivan on Tuesday nights on LateNightSportsRadio.com, Alex has also previously done some freelance writing with Bleacher Report during a brief stint as a Cutman's Assistant in Boxing.