All-conquering Golovkin at it again
GGG hot favourite to dish out another KO
Fight fans are in for a real treat on Saturday night as boxing super-star Gennady Golovkin returns to the ring for the first time since dismantling Kell Brook in London back in the summer. The Kazakhstan wrecking-ball faces American Daniel Jacobs for an alphabet of world titles.
The warring pair face-off at Madison Square Gardens, New York, and you can follow a blow-by-blow account live on BoxNation. To add extra spice to the occasion, click here to place your boxing bets, or read on as our expert fight team detail the best way to profit from proceedings.
GGG’s fearsome KO average
Golovkin took apart a brave Kell Brook at the 02 Arena in London back in September, and although much was made before the fight of how the English welterweight world champ was going to show his opponent up as the one trick pony that he was, Brook was made to eat his words, and plenty of leather along the way. Stalked around the ring from the first bell, GGG finally got to Kell in five rounds, shattering his dreams, along with his eye-socket.
That was yet another reminder, if we needed it, of the destructive punch-power Golovkin brings. It’s natural, and followers of the sport haven’t seen anything like it before. Think Tyson could bang? He was powderpuff when compared to Golovkin’s stats. That win over Kell Brook stretched the champ’s record to 36 wins from 36 contests.
Impressive stuff, and that goes some way to explaining why Coral traders want to keep him close, offering no more than 1/7 to win the fight. That’s not a price for the average punter, unless you were having it in a stacked-up accumulator. It won’t let you down, that’s for sure, and probably could be even shorter, but you’d need to be a big-hitter on par with the jolly to back it as a single.
What is worth noting however is that 33 of those 36 career wins have come inside the distance. That’s a 92 per cent knockout average, the most fearsome ratio you’ll find in boxing at this level – ever! With that in mind, Golovkin to win by KO/TKO is rather more appealing at 1/3. Again, I think Coral are being generous on that one.
Jacobs upset a non-starter
The man in the opposing corner, who faces the unenviable task of standing in front of a swinging Golovkin, is American Daniel Jacobs. The 30-year-old ducks between the ropes with a record of 32 wins and one defeat, since making his paid debut back in 2007.
That spare defeat came at the hands of Russian Dimtry Pirog in 2010 for the WBO world middleweight title, and with the reverse coming via a fifth-round TKO, that will grab the attention of punters. He had no problem getting over that however, bouncing back to win each of his last dozen, all inside the distance.
Jacobs to upset the odds and win with another stoppage is 7/1 with us, and that is a lot more likely than the points cheer, which trades 14/1. With so much power on show, it’s understandable that traders go 1/4 on the fight not to go the distance.
My best bet of the bout would be another Golovkin KO/TKO. Jacobs will come to show his power, and with both men there to be hit, we should have a cracker on our hands. If you’re looking to take a chance, why not have a jab on the round group betting? A punt on GGG winning in rounds 1-3 pays 3/1. That would’ve been a winning bet in four of his last 10 fights.
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