NEW YORK ? Gennady Golovkin retained the WBA and IBO middleweight championships, stopping Curtis Stevens at the end of the eighth round Saturday night.
The 31-year-old Golovkin, from Kazakhstan, improved to 28-0 with 25 knockouts in front of 4,618 fans mostly cheering for him at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. He retained his titles for the fourth time this year and successfully defended a title for the ninth time as a professional.
Golovkin dropped Stevens late in the second round with consecutive left hooks and continued his assault with combinations near the ropes.
The end came with a dominating display in the eighth. Golovkin used his right hand to pound Stevens under his swollen left eye. The round ended with a series of body shots and Stevens? corner stopped the fight.
Golovkin connected on 293 of 794 punches.
Stevens (25-4) had won four straight fights, but appeared to have little to counter Golovkin.
Stevens, the brash Brooklyn fighter, landed 97 of 303 punches.
Golovkin was only threatened slightly in the fourth and fifth when Stevens hit him with a series of left hooks and a standing left hook that appeared to slightly hurt Golovkin. Golovkin, however, showed little effects and, after an early charge by Stevens in the sixth, he countered with several right hands and finished the round with 41 punches.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
