Fight of the Year – Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Jacobs

Daniel Jacobs had been disrespected, belittled and largely marginalized going into his bout with Gennady Golovkin as whispers of being dropped by Dmitry Pirog loomed heading into fighting the furious puncher, Golovkin. What happened instead was a modern day classic in which Jacobs made a great showing using angles, foot speed and hand speed to trouble Golovkin.

That being said Golovkin pushed Jacobs to the limit, dropping him in the fight and pushing his head back with a jab that reverberated from the ring to the ceiling. In the only fight I remember all year that I couldn’t tell who would win, even after the final bell, it largely went unnoticed in hindsight since the fans wanted Golovkin vs. Canelo and this was simply for most setting the stage for the fight they wanted to see.

It is a shame as it is one of those fights in which you can watch over and over and see different things each time. In short, it was a technical, complicated fight, yet not boring to the average boxing fan.

Honorable Mention: Kell Brook vs. Errol Spence Jr.