The opponents of middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin present themselves ready and willing to face him at announcement time but somewhere, sometime between then and fight night the unmistakable look of dread appears.
To say the combatants are cowardly is absurd yet their respective faces reveal a story they’re helpless to stop. All the questions fans and pundits have asked in the weeks preceding the bout appear on their faces like graffiti on wall.
Does he hit as hard as they say? Will he get me out of there early? What if my punches have no impact?
Yet something about Daniel Jacobs is different. At Wednesday’s press conference in Los Angeles, the WBA regular champion appeared calmer and more passionate than the other past opponents. Resuming his career after life threatened to snatch it from him, it’s clear Jacobs doesn’t have the same fears others had. Speaking to BSO, Jacobs makes it clear he fears no man including Golovkin. While he has the utmost respect for his abilities in the ring, he too brings skills and power that threaten to spoil the night.