Fight Night Recap: Gennady Golovkin vs. Danny Jacobs

This was almost called the night of upsets, but Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KO’s) emerged victorious over Danny Jacobs (32-2, 29 KO’s) by way of a largely disputed decision.

The first few rounds were tentative, with Jacobs, a sizable underdog going in, moving and Golovkin chasing. This trend continued throughout the whole fight, with ebbs and flows as to how effective each man was at implementing their game plan. The general feeling is that the early rounds were close, but Jacobs finished strong.

Golovkin’s jab seems like a largely ignored weapon. He was consistently able to snap Jacobs’ head back with and it helped him score the only knockdown of the fight in round four. The combination itself was a powerful right hand around the New Yorker’s guard following a left.

Jacobs ended Golovkin’s 23-fight knockout streak and solidified himself as a top-3 middleweight.

Judges Don Trella and Steve Weisfeld scored the fight 115-112, while Max DeLuca had it 114-113, all in Golovkin’s favor.

Post-fight Golovkin entertained the idea of a rematch, but his focus appeared on Saul Alvarez and their long-awaited showdown.

On the undercard

In a massive upset, called by our staff writer Scott Graveson, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (42-4-1, 38 KO’s) punched his way to a decision victory over former pound-for-pound number one, Roman Gonzalez (46-1, 38 KO’s), in what is surely destined to be a Fight of the Year candidate.

Rungvisai put Gonzalez down in the first round, a position the Nicaraguan is unused to seeing. Gonzalez was unhurt and carried on but the size and power difference was noticeable from the get go. The Thai fighter was able to move Gonzalez off balance, even with punches Gonzalez took on the arms. He overpowered Gonzalez in clinches, as well. This, in tandem with Rungvisai’s work rate, kept Gonzalez’s normally busy hands more at home.

Gonzalez did have many spots, however, working his combinations up and down and even appearing as if he had the Thai reeling a time or two.

This marks Gonzalez’s first loss and maybe a consideration to move back down. He has hit a physical at 115.

Rungvisai should be given proper credit. He overcame the world’s best when virtually no one thought he would.

Carlos Cuadras (36-1-1, 27 KO’s) was really made to work for his paycheck tonight. Not the sort of trouble you need when Roman Gonzalez is on the horizon.

David Carmona (20-4-5, 8 KO’s), whose only recent losses are to Naoya Inoue and Omar Narvaez, brought his A-game and boxed nicely, moving well and baiting Cuadras effectively. He hurt Cuadras a few times, mostly to the body, digging left hooks to end combinations. “Príncipe”, however, worked just a bit harder in most of the rounds and was quick enough to beat Carmon to the punch.

My spotlighted prospect, Ryan Martin (18-0, 11 KO’s), impressed on the undercard, thoroughly dismantling Bryant Cruz (17-2, 8 KO’s) in eight rounds. Martin gave good reason to continue to watch his progression, as he displayed a host of goods throughout the contest—hand-speed, pop, sound defense, and a penchant for using his length. The clearest knock would that his technique needs work and that he needs to sit down more on his power punches.