SAN DIEGO, July 26, 2014 ? Fans were happy to see Gennady ?Triple G? Golovkin back in the ring Saturday night against Daniel Geale at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Fans saw Golovkin all of 10 minutes, a minute longer than they should have. For whatever reason, the timekeeper was off and the first round lasted four minutes. Daniel Geale must have felt like he had fallen down the rabbit hole. It wasn?t long before he was in boxing wonderland.
Golovkin knocked down Geale in the first round, and again in the third round. In the third, Golovkin hit Geale with a left hook, and Geale fired off a decent right hand counterpunch.
Then Golovkin made Geale pay for it with a trademark hard right. Geale got off the canvas on wobbly legs to beat the count. When referee Mike Ortega asked him if he could continue, it appeared that Geale said ?No.? Just like that, the fight was over at 2:47 of Round 3.
Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs) made it knockout win number 27, with 17 in a row. He has not had a fight go to the scorecards since 2008.
See highlights of the fight in this video clip.
In the post-fight news conference, Geale (30-3, 16 KOs) said he was shaking his head at the punch, not telling the referee he wanted the fight stopped. But he didn?t protest too much and the outcome was inevitable the way the first three rounds were going.
Geale said, ?I caught him with my punch, I thought I was safe. I was wrong. Golovkin hit me back and it was over.
?Tough day at the office, eh?? said Geale with a rueful smile. Geale said Golovkin was the hardest puncher he had ever faced. He praised his use of distance, his timing and footwork.
After the bout, Golovkin told HBO?s Max Kellerman he wants to unify the middleweight division. ?Hey you guys, you need an amazing show. I?m here, just call me,? said Golovkin. The other belt holders are Miguel Cotto and Sam Suliman. When Kellerman pressed him, Golovkin said. ?Miguel ? I respect him ? Cotto. This is big big, the best present for everyone, for TV.? Golovkin said he fights ?like Mexican style. This is not a game, this is a fight. I love to fight.?
That comment was designed specifically to draw out Cotto and his Boricua army of fans, and get the Mexican fans on Golovkin?s side. It seems a long shot for Cotto to get in the ring with Golovkin unless it was a significant payday. He?s much more likely to fight Canelo Alvarez first. Cotto is left perhaps with the fight his team originally tried to make this month with Julio Caesar Chavez Jr., or perhaps British champion Carl Froch.
However, during the bout, Froch?s comment on Sky Sports was repeated by HBO: ?Just swerve Golovkin like the plague, he punches like a mule. I don?t need to be in with him. Dangerous fight.? But wouldn?t it be a superb event to have the two of them fill Wembley Stadium in London in the near future?
In the meantime, Golovkin can still walk down the average American street and not many people other than hardcore boxing fans would recognize him. Soon this is going to change, so enjoy being an insider while you can.
