Unified Middleweight World Champion (WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO) GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN (36-0, 33 KO’s) and WBA Middleweight Champion and Mandatory Challenger DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS (32-1, 29 KO’s) hosted a massive contingent of Southern California media on Wednesday in Downtown Los Angeles to promote their highly anticipated showdown set for Saturday, March 18 at “The Mecca of Boxing”, Madison Square Garden. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Presented by K2 Promotions, tickets for “MIDDLEWEIGHT MADNESS” priced at $1000, $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100, are now on sale and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com.
Below are quotes from the participants:
GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN
“Everybody wants to see this fight. Daniel is a great fighter, I’m very excited to be facing him because for me it’s very important who is better, in the ring. I have a great deal of respect for Daniel for taking this fight.”
“I also have a great deal of respect for this sport and that’s why it’s important for me and for everyone to find out who is #1 in the middleweight division. Right now my position and Danny’s position is to find out who is #1.”
“Thanks to my team, to HBO and Madison Square Garden, my friends, my family. I welcome everyone to watch the fight on March 18.”
DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS
“I want to thank my team for allowing me to become the man I am inside and outside the ring. Thanks to my family for always sticking by my side for supporting me. K2 and HBO and everyone involved for allowing this to be the mega-fight that it is.”
“This fight has the material to be one of the best fights in a very long time. What we all bring to the table, this is a can’t miss fight. You guys are going to either want to show up or buy the pay-per-view, this is a fight that cannot miss. Two guys, two dedicated knockout punches, you can’t get any better than this. “
“I’m privileged to face the best. Nine times out of ten, guys don’t take on the toughest challenges, they milk the game in a sense as much as they can.”
“I credit Gennady for taking this fight, I have the utmost respect for him and his team but come March 18, the questions that have been asked about me will be answered, who I truly am, what I bring to the table and just how great I can be.”
“I haven’t come this far to give up, I’m scared of no man, I fear nothing, my back has been against the wall so many times and I’ve accepted that this is no different. It’s a tough challenge but one I look forward to.”
“For however long it lasts, I’m sure it’s going to be an entertaining fight. Once again I’m grateful for those who supported me for allowing me to have this amazing dream, to fight the best. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
ABEL SANCHEZ, Trainer of Golovkin
“We are looking forward to again facing one of Sam and Al’s projects. Andre Rozier has a program of developing a lot of very, very good fighters as we do in Big Bear. On fight night they’re both champions in the ring and we hope that they give you the kind of fight that your presence requires.
ANDRE ROZIER, Trainer of Jacobs
“Give both these fighters all the credit in the world for taking this fight. These guys are putting
it all on the line and they deserve the respect.
“A lot of people don’t know Danny Jacobs, he’s a gentleman out of the ring and when that first bell ring he becomes a monster, I know that this fight will put Danny in the history books. I’ve known him since he 14 years old and he’s never, ever disappointed me and I don’t expect him to disappoint me on March 18.”
TOM LOEFFLER, Managing Director of K2 Promotions
“This is really two champions fighting each other, there’s no question these are the two best fighters in their division and that’s what the fans respond to, the best fighting the best. There’s not going to be any tables thrown, both fighters are great ambassadors for the sport of boxing, this is clearly how the sport should be conducted. Both are confident in their abilities; the teams as well have a tremendous amount of respect for each other.”
“This is the type of fight that fans want to see, who is the best middleweight in the world. Danny wasn’t going to take this fight unless he was confident in winning and the same for Gennady, it’s a mandated fight from the WBA so if Gennady wanted to keep his title he had to fight Danny Jacobs. The same thing for Danny if he wanted to prove he’s the best middleweight in the world, he’d have to fight Gennady.”
“This has really been a great start to the promotion, we went on sale two weeks ago over the holidays and the tickets sales are outpacing where they were when Gennady fought David Lemieux in October 2015 when MSG was completely sold out so we definitely see the response from both very strong fan bases.”
“With a combined 35 knockouts heading into this fight, Gennady and Danny will provide the excitement on March 18th that the fans want.”
GGG – Jacobs NYC Quotes
GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN – “I’m very excited for this fight, I have a great deal of respect for Danny Jacobs. This is the best place for boxing, Madison Square Garden, The Mecca of Boxing. The best channel for boxing, HBO, the best companies, JORDAN Brand and Tecate.”
“Today I understand, this is huge for me, for us, for everybody. I believe Danny is very ready for this fight, because I have four belts, this is a dream for him. It’s very important for us to prove who is #1 in the middleweight division, not for the future but for right now.”
“Thank you very much to everyone and I welcome you all to Madison Square Garden on March 18th. I promise an amazing show, it’s the biggest step for us.”
DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS
“I want to thank so many people who played a part in this, my family, Madison Square Garden for allowing us to have this fight here and HBO along with so many other people who have followed our careers and allow this opportunity to be so big. This is truly one of the biggest fights this year.”
“I’m just excited, I’ve wanted this fight since before the WBA mandated it, I called ‘GGG’ out
right after the (second) Sergio Mora fight and right after that the WBA mandated it.”
“For me it’s the perfect opportunity and the perfect time for this to happen. I’m glad it’s finally happening, in my hometown, pretty sure it’s going to be a sold-out crowd.”
“I look forward to seeing everyone and my fists will do the talking inside that ring. At the end of the day it’s about fight night and as a fighter that’s exactly what we do. Much respect to Team Golovkin but we have an amazing plan and we look forward to executing it.”
ABEL SANCHEZ, Trainer of Golovkin
“First of all to Danny, thank you for being a gentleman and a man of character. Three years ago when he won his title, I remember him saying he wasn’t ready for the elite, he needed more 10-12 round fights and then he would be ready for Gennady.”
“Once the fight was ordered Danny started talking like a champion should. These two fighters enter the ring with better than a 90% KO ratio, it’s fair to say that somebody is going out.”
“Andre and I understand the importance and significance of this fight in the middleweight division and we look forward to matching wits. It’s all about getting the two best fighters in the ring to put on a great show for all of us.”
ANDRE ROZIER, Trainer of Jacobs
“We’ve been told that we were running, that we were afraid, that we didn’t want to fight Gennady, I’m here to tell you that is entirely not true. This young man here, Daniel Jacobs, I call him my son. He has fought the hardest fight he could ever have, in life. Everything after that is a walk in the park because he fears no man.”’
“When he gets in the ring on March 18th, he will show all those who didn’t believe what he’s really about. We going to work hard and train hard, I’m a big fan of Gennady, he a class act, a gentleman but on March 18th I don’t’ know who he is, I don’t want to know who he is because my fighter has to inflict punishment and garner a victory. I won’t like him on March 18th, maybe after the fight I will.”
TOM LOEFFLER, Managing Director of K2 Promotions
“Both of these champions here set the stage for the type of promotion this will be. We have a tremendous media turnout here and we’ve had a great response since we officially announced the fight. We can’t thank everyone enough involved for putting this promotion together.”
“This will be the fifth time Gennady has fought at Madison Square Garden and when you have a champion like Danny Jacobs and all the support that he brings and all that he’s accomplished in his career, it’s a fight that sells itself. Both fighters are great ambassadors for the sport. It’s so rare these days to see the best in the division fighting each other and that’s what the fans respond to.”
“We want to acknowledge the set up here in the arena for this press conference and thank Joel Fisher and everyone on his staff at MSG. Fights like this couldn’t be done without our broadcast partner HBO Pay-Per-View led by Peter Nelson and we thank them for their support. We also want to their Tecate for their support on this promotion.”
“The ticket prices start at $100 and there were 5,000 in that price category when we put tickets on sale. We’ve had a tremendous reaction from the fans as far as ticket purchases. The response to ticket sales is well above our last event here in October 2015 which sold out.”
KEITH CONNOLLY, Team Jacobs
“A fight like this with a champion like Gennady and a champion like Danny, a fight like this can really elevate boxing. This is rare, sometimes you see boxers in the same division, circle each other and avoid each other for years and years or wait until one of the guys gets old, we weren’t looking to do that.”
“I think both guys are in their prime and you’ll see the best of both of them come March 18th. I think whoever comes out on this fight on top will be the superstar in the sport.”
“I think on fight night, people are going to be really surprised, not only do I think Danny wins but I think he’s going to be dominant. I think halfway through the second round people at ringside and Gennady himself will realize he’s in there with a totally different animal, I think he bit off more than he could chew this time. I don’t think people are giving Danny enough credit for what he’s accomplished.”
“With 32 victories and 29 knockouts, Danny’s one of the biggest punches in the middleweight division and with Gennady’s knockouts I don’t see this fight going the distance, it’s a can’t miss fight and I think it’s the biggest fight of the year.”
“The Mecca of Boxing”, Madison Square Garden played host today to the Kick-Off Press Conference for the highly anticipated “MIDDLEWEIGHT MADNESS” showdown between Unified Middleweight World Champion (WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO) GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN (36-0, 33 KO’s) and WBA Middleweight Champion and Mandatory Challenger DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS (32-1, 29 KO’s) set for Saturday, March 18 in The World’s Most Famous Arena.
The press conference was held in the arena in front of a massive crowd of media and fans. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Golovkin and Jacobs have an extraordinary, combined 35 consecutive knockouts heading into this highly anticipated battle.
Presented by K2 Promotions, tickets for “MIDDLEWEIGHT MADNESS” priced at $1000, $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100, are now on sale and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com.
