Gennady Golovkin v Daniel Jacobs can last longer than many expect on Saturday night, according to our tipster Simon Crawford.
Recommended bet: Golovkin v Jacobs
Click here for our transparent tipping record.
Two of the world's best middleweights collide this weekend in what should be an enthralling encounter in New York - for as long as it lasts that is.
Unbeaten Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) will be putting the IBF, WBC and IBO world titles on the line, plus his status as the WBA 'super world' champion, against Daniel Jacobs who holds the WBA's regular (less important) belt.
Golovkin has stopped his last 23 opponents, Jacobs his last 12 and as both have the potential power to end the fight with just one well-placed blow, it's certainly a case of blink and you definitely could miss it.
Golovkin, the undisputed king of the middleweights, goes into the fight as a red-hot favourite - as short as 1/10 in places - but for one of the few times in his career he faces an opponent who can match, if not better, his own ferocious punching power and that is what makes this match-up against Jacobs so intriguing.
British fight fans got a close-up view of GGG back in September when he took on Kell Brook in London.
Brook, the reigning IBF world welterweight champion, bravely stepped up two weight divisions but ultimately found Golovkin's firepower too much to handle and he was pulled out in the fifth round after a sustaining a fractured eye socket.
Jacobs (32-1, 29KOs) is a natural at 160lbs and is faster in terms of hand and foot speed than Golovkin. He is also taller and has a longer reach which is going to be crucial in trying to keep the Kazakh at bay, which he must do with his jab.
You can't dispute his determination or resolve either, having battled back from life-threatening bone cancer to resume his career in the ring despite being told by doctors that he would never box again.
He will have a big support behind him in his home city but my one concern is that he has shown frailty in the past, being stopped by Dmitry Pirog back in 2010 and dropped by Sergio Mora 18 months ago (although he did win the fight).
Plenty have tried to halt the Golovkin juggernaut - including Britons Brook, Martin Murray and Matthew Macklin - but in Jacobs there is genuine hope that his reign could finally be ended by a very worthy challenger.
“I realise that I am in the peak of my career and there’s no better time for me to prove myself and prove that I am the best than now,” said Jacobs.
“I have a ton of knowledge for being in the sport such a long time. To be considered the best you have to fight the best and that’s what I am looking forward to doing.”
Golovkin is very respectful of Jacobs, describing Saturday's clash as the biggest test of his career and that could certainly be the case.
"Daniel Jacobs is a very serious guy, a world champion, this is a unification fight," he said.
"Jacobs has a big boxing IQ, he's number two in the middleweight division. It's very important who's number one and this fight will show who is best.
"I'm going to bring an amazing show."
Golovkin has never been afraid in past fights to take a punch, or even two, if it means landing one of his own but it would be a dangerous strategy to do this against an opponent who boasts an 88 per cent knockout ratio.
Having said that, he does have a granite chin. Remember that Brook landed some shuddering combinations but they just seemed to bounce off him.
I believe we could see a slightly different approach from Golovkin in this one, with him showing respect in the early stages for the power of Jacobs.
But even if this proves to be the case, no opponent has yet managed to out-box or even stop Golovkin in his tracks so while the fight might last a few rounds I still only see one outcome.
Jacobs will look to dominate with his jab to try to engineer openings for his big hooks, but this will be tiring work against a champion who never stops coming forward and is so adept of cutting down the ring.
I feel he will start to take over around halfway and will start to break Jacobs up, forcing a late stoppage, so I am taking the stand-out 9/4 being offered by Ladbrokes for him to win between rounds seven and 12 - a more-than-fair price that allows us to cover plenty of bases, especially when you consider he is odds-on across the board to win by knockout.
With potential fights looming on the horizon against Saul Alvarez and Britain's own world champion at 160lbs, Billy Joe Saunders, this is a big test for Golovkin but one I feel he will once more pass with flying colours to add more weight to his claims of being the world's best pound-for-pound fighter.
Where to watch on TV: BoxNation (now part of the BT Sport package)
Posted at 1115 GMT on 17/03/17.
