Boxing fans were celebrating when it was announced on Saturday that IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin had reached a deal to face mandatory challenger Daniel Jacobs in New York on March 18. Photo by Premier Boxing Champions.
The highly anticipated unification bout has been in the works for some time, and both fighters tweeted Saturday that a deal had been done and the fight set for Madison Square Garden.
Golovkin, with a record of 36-0 that includes 33 knockouts, is one of the most feared boxers fighting today. He has won 23 straight inside the distance -- most recently his bruising fifth round stoppage of Kell Brook in Britain in September. Brook suffered a fractured orbital bone and needed surgery after the fight.
Brook stepped up two weight divisions to face Golovkin, whose rival world middleweight champions had refused to fight him.
Jacobs, 29, won his last outing, a rematch with Sergio Mora, by technical knockout in September. He holds the WBA's secondary title behind "super world champion" Golovkin and boasts a record of 32-1, with 29 knockouts. His lone defeat was a knockout loss to Dmitry Pirog in 2010.
Jacobs, like most GGG opponents, is already being pegged as a big underdog in the contest. The cancer suriver is not fazed by Golovkin's long streak of knockouts and believes that he'll become the boxer to finally stain Golovkin's record.
"I'm excited about facing GGG and proving I'm the best middleweight in the world. On March 18 I'm bringing all the belts back to Brooklyn with me," Jacobs said.
Many experts view Jacobs as the best combination of skill, power and talent that Golovkin has ever faced in his pro career.
