Bread’s Response: I think if Jacobs gets off to a good start he’s in the fight. He will gain confidence that he belongs in there with Golovkin. Some fighters have sick delusional confidence like Ali. Then some guys like Jacobs are momentum fighters. They’re like a college ball team. Once they get a couple of buckets and the crowd goes crazy then they go on a run. I think Jacobs will need this in this fight. I think The Pirog loss is behind Jacobs. Jacobs was a pup back then and Pirog was a seasoned killer we just didn’t know who he was. I think Jacobs is stronger and more experience now so I don’t hold that loss against him. I think the Kasim Ouma fight shows a way to attack GGG. It’s not really a flaw, no fighter is perfect. But Ouma was able to attack up the middle and hold his ground because he had a super fast first step. Watch that fight when you get a chance. But I will say Ouma is one of those happy go lucky crazy kids. He was a child soldier and he killed people. He’s not going to have confidence problems. Jacobs is a cerebral kid, he thinks. Ouma is instinctive. Jacobs will have to have the confidence to stay in there and not let GGG push him to the ropes and fire like an SOB up the middle. Easier said than done. But Kell Brook and Ouma both had success doing it. No coincidence. But they both have two things in common. Both were smaller so they were faster getting off. Both have uncommon swag and confidence. If Jacobs has that Buster Douglas, "I have already been through hell mentality, he can do some things." People give Jacobs crap for the Pirog fight but Pirog was really good. So good I think he could have challenged GGG for supremacy had he not had that back injury. The fight that I saw a flaw in was his fight with Ishe Smith. Smith fought a really good fight vs Jacobs. So good that his corner thought he was pulling even going into the last few rounds. Listen to the audio. Smith was able to effectively pressure Jacobs and back him up and Jacobs resorted to taking something off of his punches and just throwing scoring blows to get the win. Smith is a natural 154 pounder and not known as a big puncher. The Smith fight was before the Pirog fight so Jacobs was a very young fighter. But if I’m a Jacobs backer it would slightly worry me that he resorted to throwing flurries and sort of gliding and moving to a victory like that over a smaller fighter who is not a huge puncher and Jacobs is known a killer puncher. Ishe Smith walked right to him and challenged his power. I will concede Jacobs wasn’t ready for Pirog at the time but the Smith fight is still perplexing me. I can’t tell if Smith hurt him, if Jacobs got tired or if Smith was too strong for the young Jacobs at the time despite the size difference. Both GGG and Jacobs are very talented. Both guys can throw every punch. Both guys hit hard. Jacobs’s hands are faster but not by as much as some think. GGG is fearless at the point of attack so it allows him to land on faster fighters. GGG has educated feet so his lack of athleticism does not come into play often. GGG is GGG. He’s a horror movie that works behind a pole jab but he’s jabs into you. He’s the best fighter in the world if he puts you on the ropes. No one is better! He’s brutally even handed. He does need a 2nd wind after his initial onslaught but no one can take advantage of it. Watch the Martin Murray fight close. He needed that 2nd wind. But Murray was on the retreat so… Jacobs is an athletic attacker. He hasn’t used his boxing skills much lately. He’s been blitzing everyone. That scares me because GGG boxes his way to his knockouts. Jacobs has a huge right hand. He throws it straight and round. He’s a really good fighter. He does not jab enough but I suspect he will this fight. He hasn’t had to use his jab as much in the past. Now, there is something that stands out to me and it’s not their styles. Jacobs has not been under the gun in a very long time. The Pirog fight was 7 years ago. He fought Ishe Smith 8 years ago. No other fights on his resume have prepared him for the monster he is facing. That’s very concerning. People attack GGG’s resume but Brook, Lemiuex, Stevens, Monroe and Murray are solid dudes that no one is lining up to face. Jacobs fought Peter Quillen but he blitzed Quillen. That fight lasted less than a round. That’s not Jacobs’s fault but nevertheless his level of competition and resistance since Pirog has been much lower than GGG’s. Jacobs has not had to wonder whether he was winning or not after 3 rounds. Besides a Sergio Mora left hook he hasn’t had resistance. If Jacobs had some solid rounds in with a guy like Andy Lee or Hasan Ndam in, it would have benefited him greatly. Matchmaking is just as important in building champions as training. Jacobs is going to have to have a perfect training camp because his recent in fight experience has not been on the level of GGG. Let’s see how it plays out. I think Jacobs is live in this one. - See more at:
Daily Bread Mailbag: Pacquiao Testing, Thurman-Garcia, Jacobs - Boxing News
