Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo were both pushed to their limits by one man, a man who had faced far worse odds outside of the ring.
Gennadiy Golovkin‘s fights with Canelo have long been criticized and labeled as a robbery or a poor decision, but there is one man who some believe it is fair to suggest should’ve beaten the Kazakh fighter, and it isn’t the Mexican pound-for-pound star.
The same man faced Canelo in 2019, and though his loss was fair, came just one round away from scoring a draw with the supreme fighter.
That man was none other than Daniel Jacobs, also known as ‘The Miracle Man’.
Daniel Jacobs beat bone cancer before arguably beating Gennadiy Golovkin
In 2011, Jacobs’ career was almost cut short, and he was close to never reaching the heights he did in the sport.
He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer that forced him to take 19 months out of boxing.
Like Vinny Pazienza, who broke his neck, Jacobs was never expected to return, and never expected to succeed as much as he did after.
His resilience and fighting spirit allowed him to return to the ring in 2012, and within three years he had beaten Caleb Truax.
Five years after defeating the deadliest opponent he could ever face, Jacobs took Golovkin the distance for the first time in his career, arguably beating him but losing a unanimous decision.
Daniel Jacobs’ penultimate fight and UK debut was heavily criticized
In 2022, Jacobs, who was KO’d by Dmitry Pirog, faced Britain’s John Ryder at the iconic Alexandra Palace in London.
The fight was an eliminator for the WBA super-middleweight title, and saw 37-3 Jacobs go toe-to-toe with 30-5 Ryder.
The fight ended in a razor-close split decision win for Ryder, who went on to fight and lose to Canelo.
Jacobs and many of his fans were upset with the decision, feeling Jacobs had done more than enough to win.