Having beaten cancer, Jacobs ready to face Golovkin 30-year-old faces biggest challenge of career vs. GGG

NEWYORK - Danny Jacobs gets it. Though he probably wishes it weren't the case, the 30-year-old middleweight likely will have much less crowd support Saturday night at Madison Square Garden than his opponent, Gennady Golovkin. This despite the fact that Jacobs is a product of nearby Brownsville, in Brooklyn, while Golovkin hails from Kazakhstan.

But Jacobs understands. Golovkin (36-0, 33 knockouts) is the most electrifying fighter in boxing. An owner of three major middleweight titles, Golovkin has knocked out 23 consecutive opponents, often in devastating fashion. His style lends itself to crowd-pleasing exchanges in which he occasionally absorbs punishment but almost always doles out more than he received. And he does it all with an easy smile and natural charisma, which has only furthered his immense popularity.

Even Nathaniel Jacobs, Danny's 8-year-old son, appreciates the fighter best known to his supporters as Triple G.

“He is a Triple G fan,” Jacobs said of his son. “He likes Triple G. We're not biased. I'm a Triple G fan.”

And so, the Garden likely will belong to Golovkin, 34, on Saturday night. Still, the idea that he probably won't have the fans on his side in his own home town is fine by Jacobs.

“I never had anything easy,” Jacobs said.

In his case, that statement is far from hyperbole.

Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) got off to a fast start in his career. He won 22 of his first 23 fights and climbed up the rankings to where he was about to start facing the cream of the middleweight crop.

But in May 2011, Jacobs was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a lifethreatening form of bone cancer that is contracted by about 1,000 people in the United States each year, according to the American Cancer Society.

As he battled the cancer, Jacobs spent more than 1 1/2 years on the sidelines. But through surgery and radiation, he recovered and, remarkably, was able to return to boxing in October 2012.

The comeback was methodical. Jacobs was selective with his first few opponents after returning. He simply wasn't ready for the best.

“When I was coming back from cancer, had that not happened, I still would've been on a roll,” Jacobs said. “I probably would've been fighting these guys that everybody was looking forward for me to fight. But we had to gradually get back to that point. So it took us about three years.”

Jacobs is not bitter about an illness that ended up costing him so much of his prime. On the contrary, he is grateful.

“So many people are affected by cancer,” Jacobs said. “Whether you have it, or a family member. So the fact that I can overcome all that I've done, and just who I am as a person - such a positive energy to the world. I have an 8-year-old son that I want to be a role model for. So I try to live my life in sync with that.”

Jacobs reeled off victory after victory upon returning to the ring, increasing his level of opposition with each bout. In December 2015, he battled a man the experts assumed would be his toughest opponent: then-undefeated Peter Quillin. But Jacobs dispatched him with ease, stopping him less than halfway through the first round with a series of chopping right hands.

Finally, six years after his cancer diagnosis and nearly four and-a-half years after his incredible return, Jacobs is ready to take on Golovkin. And in the eyes of many ringside experts, Jacobs is a more than credible opponent.

Andre Rozier, who trains Jacobs, believes his charge's ability to adapt to the circumstances of the match makes him dangerous.

“Danny can go from being up on his toes, flash and jab and quick combinations, or he may come at you like a wild beast - bang and dig and scruff you out,” Rozier said. “He has many, many options.”

Golovkin, for his part, appears to have more than a cursory respect for his challenger.

“Daniel was sick but right now he is a great boxer,” Golovkin said. “I have watched a couple of his fights, and he looks good. He looks strong, and he looks very focused. I think he is the best that I have been up against in my career.”

While that may be true, there's no doubt that Golovkin is, by far, the strongest opponent Jacobs has ever faced. Golovkin's punching power is so scary that Jacobs believes he has some foes beaten before they stepped in the ring.

“We've seen it a lot in Mike Tyson fights,” Jacobs said. “Guy was previously in all the different fights - a totally different fighter. But when he stepped in there with Mike, you could see he was a little nervous, he was a little fidgety. And he didn't give his best performance.”

As to whether he would be similarly intimidated by Golovkin, Danny Jacobs offered a very convincing denial.

“He's not cancer,” Jacobs said.