Daniel Jacobs: Time to put up or shut up

Daniel Jacobs says he knows what he’s up against in a world title fight with Gennady Golovkin, but that he’s used to overcoming adversity in his life and approaches this fight the exact same way.

Whether it was his sole loss at the hands of Dmitry Pirog in 2010, or the rare bone cancer that nearly proved fatal, Jacobs has managed to bounce back strong. Now he looks as good as ever in the ring, and he’ll certainly need to be in order to stand up to a man riding a 23-consecutive knockout streak.

With negotiations for the fight finally concluded, something Jacobs describes as the hardest part of the fight, all that’s left is the mental and physical and combat. It’s expected to be a tough fight for both men, and Jacobs wouldn’t have it any other way as he describes to ESPN.

"Sometimes you have to make fights rough," Jacobs said. "Sometimes you have to go in there and overcome what seems to be impossible to some. But if you believe in yourself and you believe in your ability, which I do, I think all will go well.

"Will there be some challenges? Of course. Will there be some hurdles I have to jump over? Of course. But that ain't nothing that I ain't been going through already. That ain't nothing that I don't know through and through. This is my life. I come from Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York. My life has always been back against the wall, take that leap of faith, believe in yourself. And for the most part, that's how it's been. And I've always come out on top.”

Jacobs won’t be the betting favorite heading into this fight, but he’s assuredly expected to be the best opponent Golovkin has faced thus far. Will Jacobs be able to bring something to the ring that Golovkin hasn’t had to deal with before? I guess we won’t know for certain until fight night. But like Jacobs says, “now it’s time to put up or shut up.”