Gennady Golovkin earned a unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs on Saturday to retain his middleweight titles, but boxing’s knockout king failed to extend his 23-fight KO streak.
Golovkin was forced to go 12 rounds for the first time as a professional as Jacobs gave him all he could handle in front of a boisterous crowd at Madison Square Garden.
The 35-year-old Kazakh retained his WBC and WBO belts and also claimed Jacobs’ WBA title as two of boxing’s pre-eminent punchers put on an entertaining show against the best opponents of their respective careers.