SONAHR: November 3, 2013 – Curtis Stevens had talked a lot of trash going into his bout with WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on Saturday. To his credit, Stevens ? a credible contender who came into the fight with a 25-3 (18 KOs) record ? did his best to back up his boasts once he faced the Kazakh clouter in the ring. But Golovkin, who goes by the nickname ?GGG?, demonstrated yet again that he fights at a level far above that of everyone else in his division.
Stevens probably knew he was done for when Golovkin dropped him heavily in the second frame. Having tasted GGG?s vaunted punching power, Stevens could have stayed on the canvas and spared himself further punishment. Instead, Curtis rose to his feet, and did not go down again as the fight wore on. But after six more rounds of hell during which he could not hurt an opponent who was hurting him with damn near every punch he threw, Stevens acquiesced when his corner asked that the fight be stopped at the end of the eighth round.
Stevens was Golovkin?s 15th consecutive knockout victim. The Kazakh?s record now stands at an impressive 28-0, with 25 stoppages. He is looking forward to lucrative matches with lineal champion Sergio Martinez and Mexican idol Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Golovkin would be the favorite against both men. The 39-year-old Martinez is as savvy and game as they come, but given his long layoff due to injuries, his physical equipment appears to be breaking down. Chavez can punch, as he proved with his near-knockout of Martinez in the last round of a title bout Chavez lost. But his boxing skills are limited, and that would prove his downfall in an encounter with Golovkin, who is as outstanding a boxer as he is a puncher.
It?s beginning to look as though Golovkin?s true challenges lie one division higher, at super-middleweight, where Andre Ward and Carl Froch hold sway. Both those fighters would prove hard nuts for Golovkin to crack, even if he were able to retain his punching power at the higher weight. Ward could beat Golovkin on guile; Froch on guts. Ward and Froch both have fights coming up later this month: Ward against Edwin Rodriguez, and Froch against George Groves. If the super-middle kings get past those challengers, then they could either fight each other a second time (Ward outpointed Froch in their first encounter two years ago), or dangle the promise of a big purse in front of Golovkin?s management.
Another possibility for Golovkin could come from a lower division: a super showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr., who currently holds both the welterweight and junior-middleweight crowns. Such a fight would be an even bigger box-office bonanza than Mayweather?s recent victory over Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez. But the only way Mayweather would get into the ring with a beast like Golovkin would be at a catchweight ? say 155 lb ? that would drain Golovkin of some of his vitality. Given Mayweather?s track record in the matches he?s made for himself over the years, all the money in the world would not be enough to get him to agree to face Golovkin at 160 lb.
Until some future opponent proves otherwise, GGG can add another ?G? to his nickname ? ?greatest middleweight since Bernard Hopkins.?
