Gennady Golovkin continued his march through boxing’s middleweight division, stopping challenger Curtis Stevens with an 8th-round TKO Saturday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater. Golovkin retained his IBO and WBA middleweight titles with the victory.
Golovkin came out from the start and outworked Stevens, thowing relentless combinations and hard body shots that wore down Stevens. Then in the second round, Golovkin threw a powerful left hook that put Stevens on the canvas. The look on Stevens face seemed to say, ‘Wow.’ But he got up and survived the last 20 seconds of the round.
Golovkin (28-0, 25 KOs) continued the punishment for the next six rounds, with Steven, who won three of his last four fights with first-round knockouts, hardly able to defend himself, though it was obvious that Golovkin was being cautious to avoid a big shot. Golovkin landed 293 punches compared to 87 for Stevens, who is from Brooklyn.
Whenever Golovkin got Stevens against the ropes, he would unload with a mixture of head and body shots that eventually took their toll on Stevens, the former light heavyweight, whose record fell to 25-4 with 18 KOs.
“My plan was to box,” Golovkin, from Kazakhstan, said. “I know I’m better. My trainer (Abel Sanchez) told me, no crazy stuff. No street fighting. Just get in there and box.
“He’s a strong guy, but after I knocked him down, I felt it was my fight.”
Golovkin was asked who he wanted next, Golovkin said he welcomed anybody. Pressed to name one guy, he said, “Sergio Martinez.” Martinez is the WBC middleweight champion from Argentina.
End of the 8th round.
293-87 37%
794-303
185-74 power shots
