NEW YORK -- Gennady Golovkin lost his knockout streak, but he retained his middleweight championship belts.
Daniel Jacobs gave him one hell of a fight, the toughest of his 11-year career, and he pushed Golovkin to the 12-round distance for the first time, but GGG prevailed by unanimous decision on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Judges Don Trella and Steve Weisfeld both scored the fight 115-112 and Max DeLuca had it 114-113 for Golovkin, who scored a knockdown in the fourth round. ESPN.com also had Golovkin winning 115-113.
As Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) retained his title for the 18th consecutive time -- just two away from tying Bernard Hopkins' division record of 20 -- he turned back a stiff challenge from Jacobs in one of the year's most significant fights as it matched the 160-pound division's top two fighters.