Gennady Golovkin gave himself a perfect score after his victory over Curtis Stevens and then set his sights on Sergio Martinez.
“I give myself a ten. I am ready to fight anybody, but specifically I want to fight Sergio Martinez,” the WBA and IBO middleweight champion said after stopping Stevens at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night.
Golovkin’s next fight is scheduled for February 1 in Monte Carlo against an opponent to be determined. Martinez holds the WBC middleweight title and might fight Miguel Cotto next year.
The Kazakh impressed the 4 600 fans who saw him beat Stevens. He improved his professional record to 28-0, with 25 knockouts and retained his titles for the fourth time this year.
He finished the fight with a dominating display in the eighth, using his right hand to pound Stevens under his swollen left eye. The round ended with a series of body shots and Stevens’s corner stopped the fight.
Golovkin won all eight rounds on Michael Pernick’s scorecard. The other judges, Max DeLuca and Tom Schreck, gave him every round but the fourth.
Golovkin connected with 293 of his 794 punches, including 108 jabs and 185 power punches. Stevens connected with 97 of 303 punches ? 23 jabs and 74 power punches.
“Stevens was tougher than we thought he was going to be,” said Abel Sanchez, Golovkin’s trainer. “There are still things we need to work on, such as Gennady’s patience and setting up his punches, but we got the win.?
Despite being dominated, Stevens didn’t lose any of his confidence. “I have nothing to be ashamed of,” said the Brooklyn fighter, who had won his previous four bouts.
“I’m better than anybody gave my credit for. I’ve shown more in a loss than most people show in a win. This is not the end for me. I will learn from my mistakes and I’ll be back.?
It seemed Golovkin might have a short night when he dropped Stevens with 25 seconds left in the second round.
He knocked the challenger down with consecutive left hooks and finished the round with several combinations. Harvey Dock appeared hesitant to let the fight continue.
Golovkin was threatened slightly in the fourth and fifth when Stevens hit him with a series of left hooks that appeared to hurt the champion.
After an early charge by Stevens in the sixth, Golovkin countered with several right hands and finished the round with 41 punches.
“I was able to use the punches we worked on in the gym to break him down,” Golovkin said. “He was strong and I was a little cautious of his strength but I felt comfortable in there and never felt I was in any trouble.”
