Sanchez: If Jacobs Comes to Fight, Will Be Short Night Either Way
Mar 14, 2017 • 9:38 AM ET
By Keith Idec, photo by Tom Hogan/Hoganphotos
NEW YORK – Abel Sanchez is encouraged by Daniel Jacobs’ confidence.
Jacobs has mentioned numerous times that if he can land the same punches against Gennady Golovkin that a smaller, weaker Kell Brook hit him with, Jacobs will hurt the heavily favored middleweight champion Saturday night. Sanchez, Golovkin’s trainer, has taken that to mean that Jacobs will be aggressive in their 12-round fight for Golovkin’s IBF, WBA, IBO and WBC 160-pound titles at Madison Square Garden.
As dangerous as they consider the hard-hitting Jacobs, Sanchez and Golovkin want Jacobs to take a lot of offensive initiative during their HBO Pay-Per-View main event (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT; $64.95 in HD/$54.95 in SD).
“I hope he comes to fight,” Sanchez said Monday before a press conference at the Garden to promote the Golovkin-Jacobs card. “He has power in both hands. But at the same time, when he’s delivering his power he’s opening himself up. And when he does that, that’s when he’s gonna get hurt. So if he comes to fight and he makes it a good offensive fight, then we’re gonna be treated to a short night either way. Danny’s got power, too.”
The 34-year-old Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs), though an 8-1 favorite over Brooklyn’s Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs), is more than mindful of that power. The Kazakhstan native expects to feel a significant difference when Jacobs hits him than he felt when Brook hit him during their September 10 fight in London.
Golovkin beat Brook by fifth-round technical knockout at O2 Arena when Brook’s trainer, Dominic Ingle, threw in the towel to spare Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) further punishment.
“Every fight is different,” Golovkin said. “Right now, this fight with Daniel is a more serious fight. I know Daniel has power. And I know Kell, after the first round I felt his power. It was a little bit different. Maybe a little bit. Every fight is different.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
