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Gennady Golovkin vs Daniel Jacobs: 3 keys to the fight

By Zachary Alapi

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Gennady Golovkin (blue trunks) and Kell Brook (red trunks) in action during their World Middleweight Title contest at The O2 Arena on September 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Gennady Golovkin (blue trunks) and Kell Brook (red trunks) in action during their World Middleweight Title contest at The O2 Arena on September 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /
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Gennady Golovkin’s Jab

Although Gennady Golovkin has dynamite in his right hand and vaunted left hook, his jab is a crucial weapon that he is able to employ to both set up his offense and disarm fellow power punchers. Against Daniel Jacobs, the latter application of Golovkin’s straight left hand could be the bout’s most significant determining factor.

On average, Golovkin lands 10.9 jabs per round out of 31.3 attempts, which obliterates the division averages of 4.8 and 23.3, respectively (per CompuBox via Inside HBO Boxing). In landing his jab 14 percentage points higher than the division average, Golovkin has consistently proven that his sledgehammer left is both accurate and menacing.

Jacobs essentially jabs at the middleweight average, which means that during those potentially cautious early rounds, Golovkin should be able to pump his jab, dictate tempo and race out to an early lead on the scorecards. It’s impossible to imagine Jacobs undertaking the suicide mission of pressing the action from opening bell, and the Booklynite will have to strike the difficult balance of evading and parrying Golovkin’s jab while mustering enough of his own flurries to earn respect.

The David Lemieux fight should serve as a blueprint for what to expect from Gennady Golovkin. Lemieux is perhaps the only fighter who presented the sort of risk Golovkin had to respect. Because of this, Golovkin almost solely controlled the fight with his jab until greater openings, particularly to the body, presented themselves. Jacobs, because of what he brings to the table, is about to encounter that same hyper-focused version of Triple G, and that means a more patient, but equally punishing, approach.

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