The ‘Miracle Man’: Daniel Jacobs Knocked Out Cancer, Now After Gennady Golovkin

In 2011, Daniel Jacobs was not able to walk. Six years later, on March 18, he will seek to make his dream come true by fighting for the world championship.

Much is said of the great Gennady Golovkin and his spectacular strike. He is said to be the “Mike Tyson” of the middleweights, a boxer who always goes to the front and goes looking for the knockout against his rival. However, this Saturday, March 18, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Golovkin faces a very dangerous opponent, not only because of his boxing condition but also because of the motivation that Daniel Jacobs perceivably has.

Jacobs has an immeasurable motivation to fight with the intense hunger to triumph over any obstacle. Daniel Jacob’s medical history would state the opposite. Overcoming cancer in his spinal cord, which was detected in 2011, has not been easy for Jacobs. He felt weak in the legs and had frequent panic attacks.

Doctors conducted several studies and confirmed that Daniel Jacobs was a victim of osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer which even if cured through medical treatment and save Jacob’s life, might take away his legs for good. There was a risk that Jacobs would not be able to walk after treatment.

With the illness came the anguish and many of his friendships eroded, but the support of his family and his coach, Andre Rozier, gained strength.

There was a time when Jacobs could not walk but he never gave up on his identity as a boxer. His persistent passion of fulfilling his dream of becoming the world champion someday and own the ring did not fade away due to his illness. He overcame his ailment little by little and managed to rise again in the quadrilateral of the brave ones.

His nickname changed from “Golden Child” to “Miracle Man” after returned to the ring on October 20, 2012, against Josh Lutheran and won by TKO. Moreover, Daniel has not lost a single fight; nine consecutive wins and all by knockout.

The road to becoming world champion that seemed broken for the championship has now come to fruition and become a reality. The Miracle Man is now the WBA champion and is only one fight to achieve the WBC’s longed-for belt. It will not be simple though given his rival, Gennady Golovkin, famously known as the GGG, is the best boxer at the moment. “He helped me believe in me,” Jacobs said before the match against Gennady Golovkin.

The fight between Daniel Jacobs and Gennady Golovkin will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday at 9 p.m.

Few boxers have pitted Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KO’s) as has Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KO’s). The Kazakh is one of the most feared boxers in the world boxing panorama.

Despite that, Golovkin has not taken his combat against the American lightly. Aware of the great experience of his rival Jacobs, Golovkin has made one of the best preparations of his life, undergoing a very progressive weight loss during the last month. So much so, the last 30 days of his fight, Golovkin was overweight by two kilos. He has been working on it to get into perfect shape before confronting the ambitious Jacobs.

Against Jacobs, Golovkin returns to the ring after a six-month break. The Kazakh fought for the last time in September against Kell Brock, a fight in which he not only won but marveled, showing the world and making it clear that there are few rivals that can stand up to him.

Jacobs is one of them. The boxer batted in the amateur category confirmed his great expectations as a professional. After overcoming cancer, he focused on trying to reach GGG through the World Boxing Association (WBA). He was the provisional champion on five occasions, which finally has been worth the opportunity to him.

[Featured Image by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images]