It’s almost fight time, and everyone and anyone has had a say on what will unfold inside the legendary venue that is Madison Square Garden in New York tomorrow night. Most experts are picking middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin to beat Danny Jacobs and retain both his belts and perfect record, while some people are giving the once-beaten Jacobs a shot at scoring the upset.
One thing almost everyone is agreed on is this: the fight is not going the distance. Someone will get KO’d, very possibly violently so. That said, who do you WANT to win tomorrow? Jacobs is a fighter and a man who is simply impossible to dislike. We all know “The Miracle Man’s” story; of how he beat “career-ending” cancer (so said the doctors) and came back to where he is now in boxing – on the verge of true international stardom. Plenty of us will likely find it all but impossible not to root for Jacobs once the action gets underway tomorrow.
Then again, Golovkin is a very popular champion. GGG is also a great guy, a charming personality and a great ambassador for the sport. Added to this is the fact that Golovkin is ferociously entertaining in the ring; who really wants to see him lose (and don’t forget – as if you could! – if GGG loses tomorrow, that September mega-fight we all want, no, we need to see between he and Canelo will disappear, never to come again.
So, it is indeed a tough job deciding who to cheer for in tomorrow’s big fight. There has been no silly trash-talk in the run-up to the fight, far from it; there has been nothing but mutual respect. There is no “bad guy” in this fight, merely two good, or great guys.
Who to root for? May the best man win is probably the easiest way to put it. We know we’re in for a terrific fight whoever wins. Still, a prediction must be made:
Jacobs puts some early rounds in the bank, he maybe even stuns Golovkin a couple of times, but the winner will be GGG; by stoppage inside eight rounds.