:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59373919/873082954.jpg.0.jpg)
The middleweight muddle is as cluster-effy as has been seen since who knows when.
Gennady Golovkin will fight May 5, people are sure, or pretty sure, but against who isn’t 100 percent known, though Vanes Martirosyan seems to have inside track. 160 No. 2 Canelo Alvarez sits and chews his nails, waiting for the Nevada commission to hand down a sentence for testing PED positive.
There’s fear and doubt and uncertainty in the air...
Daniel Jacobs is seen as the third-best middleweight by many, and at least he has clarity on his side. The 33-2 hitter, who was born and bred in and reps Brooklyn proudly, is looking to make a statement on April 28, when he gloves up on HBO and at Barclays Center against Pole Maciej Sulecki, who shouldn’t be able to handle Jacobs’ hand speed, mobility edge and explosivity.
Jacobs knows who and when he’s fighting, that’s a plus in this time frame, right?
But, how about this scenario, which has to rank as being a bit goofy, potentially, if nowhere near as messed up as the whole Canelo sitch…
Jacobs is managed by New York finance guy Keith Connolly, who spoke to BLH at a media workout held Thursday at the famed and fabled Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn. Connolly also reps the IBF’s No. 1 contender, 12-0 Sergiy Derevyanchenko. He told us that it isn’t inconcievable that his two aces could end up colliding, and soon. Here’s how:
“We could see Gennady Golovkin stripped of the title, it goes to Derevyanchenko, who fights the next guy in the IBF rankings, which is Danny Jacobs (No. 3 IBF, No. 2 is unfilled.) So we could possibly see a Derevyanchenko versus Jacobs fight for the IBF title! Am I OK with that? Listen, I never want my guys fighting each other, but I’m not gonna deprive Sergiy, I’m not gonna deprive Danny fighting for a world title, if they both agree to fight each other.”
Man, that’s a combo of a win-win, and a win-lose, isn’t it?
“It’s a can’t-win, because obviously I always want Sergiy to win, I always want Danny to win…but my heart’s always been with Danny, I’ve been with him since he was 15 years old! And I’m supposed to say the politically correct thing, but I’d have to be in his corner, out of loyalty. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be fighting to get Derevyanchenko the best deal possible.”