Gennady Golovkin, the KO artist from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, beat down Curtis Stevens, forcing his corner to thrown in the towel at the end of round eight?
Saturday night at The Theater in New York?s Madison Square Garden, Gennady Golovkin (28-0, 25 KOs), the knockout artist from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, successfully defended his WBA middleweight title by beating down a game Curtis Stevens (25-4, 18 KOs), forcing his corner to thrown in the towel at the end of round eight.
Fighting out of the red corner in gray trunks with black trim, Golovkin established early on that he was the man to beat. But Stevens, fighting out of the blue corner in brown trunks, was surprisingly competitive in round one. They traded jabs. They traded straight rights. They appeared equal in speed. Golovkin was busier and dictated the pace. Triple G edged Stevens in the first, but things looked promising.
Golovkin?s cornerman, Abel Sanchez, told him between rounds, ?That jab needs to be established. Hook off that jab.? Andre Rozier?s advice to Stevens was almost identical. ?Use that jab Curtis,? he said. ?Don?t make him brave.?
Golovkin landed 17 of 75 punches thrown in round one, to 8 of 37 for Stevens.
Round two got underway with a solid jab by Golovkin, a weapon he would use increasingly as the fight progressed. Stevens landed a hook to the body, but Golovkin?s longer reach prevented him from getting inside. Both fighters were trying to feint the other out of position. Stevens was looking for an opening when?bam!?a left hook exploded on his chin and the Brownsville, Brooklyn native went down as if he?d been shot. The expression on his face said it all. But Stevens to his credit struggled to his feet and made it through the round.
Stevens was still hurt at the start of the third. He wasn?t fighting back because he couldn?t fight back without the risk of being dropped again. Golovkin landed jabs, rights, an uppercut and body shots while Stevens waited until his head cleared. The fight was beginning to look like a romp, but of course the fight had just begun.
Golovkin landed 29 of 103 punches to Stevens? 6 of 22 in round three. Stevens? corner told him, ?Stick your jab and press him. You?re making it easy for him. You?ve got to close the gap.? Golovkin?s corner simply said, ?Throw combinations, upstairs and back.?
Round four was a body shot festival, and Golovkin was the master of ceremonies. Stevens may have still been experiencing the effects of the second round knockout. Triple G drove his opponent to the ropes and was mixing it up with consummate skill, balance and power when Stevens suddenly bounced off the ropes and drove the champ back with a flurry of punches. It was a small but unmistakable rally that drew cheers from the partisan crowd. The round was close, with Golovkin landing 19 of 51 to 13 of 51 for Stevens.
The playing field leveled off even more in round five. Golovkin got things underway with a straight right. Stevens countered with a long left that momentarily stunned Golovkin and followed it up with a shot to the midsection. Golovkin continued to work behind his picture-perfect left jab. He landed a crisp hook and right cross. Golovkin was stalking, but Stevens wasn?t hard to find. Neither, however, was Golovkin. Both fighters connected with the same number of punches in the fifth, with Golovkin landing 9 of 31 and Stevens 9 of 24.
Although he hadn?t won a round, Stevens was making a fight of it. He started the sixth with a good-looking uppercut, only to be greeted with signature Golovkin body shots followed up with two rights to the head. Stevens retreated to the ropes and the Kazakh Killer had a field day. Stevens wasn?t protecting himself at all times, he was protecting himself all the time, but Golovkin?s punches were getting through. They were also doing damage.
Stevens corner, a mass of confusion where three people were talking at once, implored, ?Why are you on the ropes? We asked you to stay in the center of the ring. Stop backing up into the ropes.? It was a big round for Golovkin, who landed 41 of 102 punches thrown to Stevens? 18 of 47.
Round seven was a carbon copy of the sixth. Golovkin had found the range. Stevens was for the most part on the retreat. But however overmatched, Stevens was fighting back, albeit in spurts. A right backed up Golovkin, but barely slowed his forward momentum. Any doubts about the champion?s chin were put to rest at the Madison Square Garden Theater. He was composed. He was methodical. He was smart. He was devastating.
Stevens was all but finished when the bell rang to start the eighth. Golovkin was delivering knuckle sandwiches, not on tray, but with abandon. Jabs, hooks, body shots, rights?it was Gennady Golovkin in full flower. Stevens found a home on the ropes, a home facing imminent foreclosure, but did just enough to keep the referee from stopping the fight. There?s not an ounce of quit in Curtis Stevens. He is as tough as they come. But his corner, wisely, gratefully, compassionately called it quits. Golovkin landed 56 of 101 power shots. The middleweight champion had won again, and once again he won decisively.
After the fight Golovkin, in broken English, addressed Stevens? trash talk before the bout.
?My last question for him, I ask him, ?You?re serious? You?re serious?? He said, ?Yeah, I?m serious.? Okay, I respect box. I respect everybody. I respect everybody in sports. This is a sport for me first. My plan just box. I know I?m champion. I know I?m better. My power better. My speed better. People know who?s who. Coach Abel tell me, ?Not crazy fight. Not street fight. Please box.? ?Of course coach.? This my box. After knockdown, I feel this is great, this is my fight.?
When asked who he?d like to fight next, Golovkin said Sergio Martinez or Peter Quillin. Now someone has to ask Martinez and Quillin if they?re up for fighting Gennady Golovkin. Follow us on Twitter@boxing_com to continue the discussion
