by Keith Idec
Daniel Jacobs gives Kell Brook a tremendous amount of credit for accepting the dangerous challenge he’ll encounter September 10 at London’s O2 Arena.
Jacobs just can’t envision the unbeaten Brook, who owns the IBF welterweight title, pulling off an upset against Gennady Golovkin. Like most boxing observers, Brooklyn’s Jacobs expects the Kazakh knockout artist to overwhelm England’s Brook and win their scheduled 12-round middleweight championship bout by knockout.
“I have the utmost respect for Kell Brook,” Jacobs told BoxingScene.com. “I think his heart is tremendous. I just think at times, it’s just science, man. Physics, bro. The difference in size. The difference in power.”
If it weren’t for the size difference Jacobs believes will emerge as the difference during their fight, the WBA world middleweight champion believes Brook, who stands about 1½ inches shorter than Golovkin, would have a good shot to defeat his 34-year-old opponent.
“I actually believe Kell Brook has what it takes to beat Triple-G, skill-wise and as far as ring IQ, ring generalship,” Jacobs said. “He has all the goods, but he is not a middleweight fighter. And that is the difference. No matter what you do, if you cannot take those punches, or you cannot stop the guy that you’re punching and get that respect, you can try to box all night. But I just believe it’s a matter of time before you get caught. And he has a good chin, but he has a good chin against welterweights.”
The night before Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) faces Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) in an HBO “World Championship Boxing” main event, the 29-year-old Jacobs (31-1, 28 KOs) will defend his 160-pound championship against Los Angeles’ Sergio Mora (28-4-2, 9 KOs) in Reading, Pennsylvania. Their September 9 rematch will be broadcast by Spike from Santander Arena.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
