GGG Survives Jacobs, Remains Unbeaten

It was a close one, and Danny Jacobs ultimately proved to be probably the biggest threat to Gennady Golovkin and his unified middleweight world title.

But for Jacobs, it was so close, and yet so far. In one of the most anticipated and closely combated contests in boxing history, Golovkin retained his unified title via unanimous decision on March 18 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

The bout started off with quiet, with Golovkin simply working the jab in the opening round. The next two rounds saw both fighters acting cautious, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Jacobs was placed against the ropes in the third, but he was able to escape and tied it up with GGG twice in the round.

Golovkin scored a knockdown midway through the fourth round, and while Jacobs managed to survive the knockdown, GGG was on the attack and dominated the round.

The fifth round was quiet once again, but Golovkin continued his impressive performance by laying shot after shot in continuously. Jacobs then began to gain some momentum in the sixth, landing combinations and pressing the unified champion. Jacobs followed it up and had Golovkin into retreat, winning the round.

The frustration seemed to get to Golovkin in the seventh, and both fired away. Golovkin landed a late punch after the bell, firing Jacobs up even more. The eighth round was close, as it appeared both fighters needed a rest, with GGG going back to jabbing and Jacobs getting into an orthodox stance.

A key uppercut by Golovkin landed on Jacobs in the ninth, hurting his challenger and following up with hard shots. The 10th round was pretty even, though Jacobs appeared to be more in control in the closing seconds of the bout.

Jacobs looked out of energy as the 11th round began, but Jacobs came through in the second half of the round, scoring with an uppercut and then following up with attacks until the bell. Both fighters then got the last three minutes to swing away in what proved to be an incredible bout.

Golovkin ended up getting the decision and remained unbeaten and unified world champ, defeating Jacobs via unanimous decision. The judges scored the contest 115-112, 115-112, 114-113.

The calls for a re-match are already ongoing.