Unified WBC/WBA/IBF middleweight world champion Gennady «GGG» Golovkin, (37-0, 33 KOs) overcame a hard fought and tactically smart performance by mandatory challenger Daniel «The Miracle Man» Jacobs, (32-2, 29 KOs) to take a twelve round unanimous decision on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- Congrats on a fantastic fight against GGG. The decision didn't go your way, but can you give us some thoughts on your performance as well as the decision?
- I was shocked by how my body was responding and how in shape I was. It's never like a shock, but it was like man I'm in this fight. From round one until like round three or four right before the knockdown I felt like I had control of the fight and I knew I was winning rounds. This whole myth is exactly what it was, a facade. And even with the knockdown and with all of our exchanges I knew the judges might have had it close, but I really felt like I won the fight. I gave it my all and I don't feel I got the credit. It sucks to feel like you've given it everything you possibly could have, even though looking back I probably should have pressured him a little bit more and I should have been moving forward a little bit more, but I still gave him a boxing lesson and most importantly I gained his respect. It was evident with in his posture and it was all over his face, you could tell. I'm proud of myself, I know for sure I've made my mark in the game and I got the respect from everybody, and it's not to say I've been desperately seeking it, but it's like now there's that stamp of respect on me. I also feel like a lot of people feel like I won that fight. It's not a lose-lose situation for me because I'm going to be able to get right back into it without having to suffer as if it was a real loss.
- I was sitting on my couch and Scott Shaffer was Ringside and we both wound up with the same final score 114-113 in your favor. We didn't agree on all of the rounds the same, but the final tally was the same.
- Thank you. I really feel like there was an agenda that we all can't see, for some of the judges to have it 115-112 I mean come on how many rounds are they giving this guy...
- (cutting in) I wouldn't go that far Danny, for me it was the kind of fight that could have been 7 rounds to 5 either way or a draw. I think the fight was close enough to where the decision should not have been unanimous, but it was a 7-5 either way kind of a fight.
- I knew I was going against the powers that be, I knew I was doing that. Even fighting at Madison Square Garden the odds were against me, because this guy is a big draw. I understood that and it's crazy because I still feel like I won the fight. That's why I so excited after the final bell, I felt I was going to be rewarded with the decision but it didn't go that way. After the final bell you didn't see the normal, happy, I know I was victorious face on GGG. I felt like I had the fight in the bag because I wasn't used to seeing that in him.
- That's what happens when you're not used to hearing the ring announcer say we go to the scorecards.
- I also knew that Abel (Sanchez) had said that they were going to start off boxing and then stop me in the seventh or eighth round, so I was taking my time and then I realized that this whole seventh or eighth round is an illusion. Either he's playing possum or he really can't do anything with me. This guy really can't do anything with me and I need to start pressing him. We stuck to the game plan, we were on the back foot, we were using our jab and our combinations and I still feel like I got the job done. If we were to do it all over again I would definitely put more pressure on him and it would be a totally different fight.
- Was switching up part of the game plan coming in?
- The thing is I've always known GGG to have hard times with guys that are southpaw. He hard had a hard time with Kassim Ouma, he had a hard time with Monroe and that other Polish who was a full fledged welterweight, he had a hard time with him as well. He has a hard time with anybody who is slippery and has that advantage of being southpaw while being long advantage to have the reach advantage from that stance. Plus I'm slick, so it was very, very challenging for me and I know my trainer didn't want it as much, but I knew the success I would have with it and it started to show. It was also a flash knockdown. It was a legal knockdown, but if people really look at it, it wasn't the punch that put me down it was more of the momentum of being pushed and punched at the same time, me being off balance and being in the southpaw position. I continued to fight southpaw because I felt like he was having a hard time hitting me from southpaw. We saw him miss more in this fight than any fight he's ever been in and that was me just keeping the fight awkward for him.
- I spoke with your coach yesterday and he's confident that you're going to get the rematch. He explained to me his scenario where Chavez Jr beats Canelo which leads to the rematch next. How confident are you that you're going to get Golovkin next?
- I'm confident that we'll get it eventually, but right after the fight I knew that them giving me a rematch wasn't something that was in their plans. I'm hopeful and I do believe it will happen sometime in the future, but I don't think it will be the near future. Maybe he'll want to do it two or three fights down the line. I definitely don't consider that a loss for me, I'm still one of the key players in the middleweight division. If anything my stock only went up on March 18, I've elevated myself to have a say so in this boxing game. I'm not truly the A side just yet, but we're still playing this game.
- Earlier you mentioned you'd look to put more pressure on him in the rematch. Is there anything else you would look to do differently?
- Nothing. That's really just it. Knowing what he brings to the table, which was the off-timing jab that he had which kind of threw me off track in a few rounds. For me what I would change is better my defense of his jab and step forward, just those two things.
- With everyone building Golovkin into a monster, and he deserves that credit for dispatching of one guy after the other. With the way he was being built up were you surprised in the ring that you were able to keep him off balance and do a lot of what you want to do in there?
- I think it was just a matter of me waiting until the seventh or eighth round to figure that out. I knew that in the back of their minds they were looking to stop me in the middle rounds. Even in the first six rounds it was still fairly easy to do good with him, it's not as hard as I thought it was, he doesn't hit as hard as I think he can. After round eight I knew it was just a myth. I didn't go out there disrespectful and abandon the game plan and go recklessly, because that's disrespectful and that's how I got caught with Sergio Mora. That confidence builds inside of you and it gives you the motivation to give it everything you've got.
- When are you hoping your next fight takes place?
- In September or October. I didn't take too much damage in this fight. I'm still healthy and in my prime and I want to take advantage of it as much as possible and just ride this wave. Like I said I gained a lot of fans in this fight and I know a lot of people are looking forward to seeing me back in the ring soon.
- Do you think GGG would approach you the same way in a rematch?
- He's a smart fighter so he would probably make adjustments, but I don't see him changing completely. I think he needs to stick to what's gotten him to this point, I just think the reason why he wasn't able to have so much success was the respect factor. I think he'll try to take more chances in the next fight, but I have the power, speed and ring IQ to take it over. The difference between me and the other fighters he's faced is their game plan went out the window each time they got hit. This was a different experience for him, because he never really came at me recklessly. I don't know how he'll fight the second fight, but I definitely see myself winning the second fight by unanimous decision or knockout.
- When will you get back to the gym?
- In three weeks to a month. I do want to give my body time to heal and rest from all of this fluctuation of weight and all the pain and suffering I had to go through in camp. I'm going to be back in the gym by mid April or something like that.
- Whether it's Golovkin or not do you want your next fight to be a significant one?
- Definitely. I'm the best middleweight in the world. I think I've proven that, I didn't get the credit that I deserve but there's no reason to go backwards now. I have a great team around me and we will decide who we want to fight and who the best opponent to fight is, but we're going to fight the best and continue to give these fans great shows. I'm proud of what I accomplished and to gain the respect of all of these people who were counting me out, I mean nobody had me going past the fifth or sixth round. It's not an accomplishment for me to say I went twelve rounds with him, but it is an accomplishment for me to say I went twelve rounds with him and I know I beat him, and gained the respect of everybody. At the end of the day I'm grateful I get the chance to fight another day and I'm grateful to all of the fans.
- Other than Golovkin, what middleweight fights peak your interest?
- Saunders and the winner of Canelo-Chavez Jr, maybe even the loser too, we'll see what happens, but I want my next fight to be another big one. I don't want to fight a contender or pre-contender, I want to fight world champions and former world champions.
- Is there anything you'd like to say in closing?
- I want to thank you guys for allowing me to be able to perform and reach my dreams while captivating the world. I really feel like we were all a part of this journey together. I've sacrificed so much just to please you guys and I thank you for all of your support. I'm proud of myself and I'm grateful to have my fans support. We have a fundraiser for the kids on April 1 so everybody needs to come out, we're having the fund raiser for kids with cancer.
