By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Going 12 rounds in his last fight and showing some more flaws helped his cause.
That’s the silver lining Gennady Golovkin took away from the most difficult fight of his career three months ago. According to Golovkin, had Daniel Jacobs not survived that fourth-round knockdown March 18 at Madison Square Garden, Canelo Alvarez “probably” wouldn’t have finally agreed to fight him.
The 35-year-old Golovkin considers the first 12-round fight of his 11-year pro career an important step in finalizing a deal for him to meet Mexico’s Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) in a long-awaited middleweight championship showdown September 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) discussed the scenario Tuesday night before a press conference in Manhattan – the second stop on a four-day, three-city tour to promote their HBO Pay-Per-View main event.
“Jacobs, he is a very good fighter,” Golovkin told a small group of reporters in The Theater at Madison Square Garden. “And I know everybody would have problem with Jacobs. He is big, he is huge, he is a very good fighter. And I know I win. I need a decision fight. I need experience for 12 rounds. I need this first step for second, for a deal with Golden Boy. If I looked beautiful, like after the first knockdown I finished him, probably I don’t have right now September 16th.”
Once Jacobs got up from that fourth-round knockdown, the taller, powerful fighter’s skill and athleticism gave Golovkin difficulty over the eight remaining rounds. Golovkin won a unanimous decision, but each of the three judges considered it a close fight.
Max DeLuca scored Golovkin a 114-113 winner, which means he gave Golovkin and Jacobs six rounds apiece. Don Trella and Steve Weisfeld both scored the fight 115-112, seven rounds to five, for the defending champion.
Tom Loeffler – managing director for K2 Promotions, Golovkin’s promoter – also believes Golovkin’s tough 12-round fight against Jacobs convinced Alvarez and his promoter, Oscar De Lay Hoya, that the time is right to fight a long-reigning champion who had his 23-fight knockout streak ended by Brooklyn’s Jacobs (32-2, 29 KOs).
“Going 12 rounds with Jacobs didn’t hurt making this fight,” Loeffler said.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.