Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Saturday, July 26, 2014, in front of a raucous crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Gennady Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs) knocked out Daniel Geale (30-3, 16 KOs) in the third round of a scheduled 12-round fight to successfully defend his WBA and IBO Middleweight titles.
The veritable wrecking ball of a beatdown was the main event of a card presented by K2 Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions.
After a bit of defensive movement in the first round, Golovkin pushed forward to land thudding left hooks and right hands, momentarily stunning Geale on the ropes.
Geale then gave Golovkin a lot of head movement and footwork in order to prevent from getting hit again, but began to expend a lot of energy in a round that was unacceptably allowed to go four minutes.
In round two, Golovkin began to pressure Geale in earnest, landing body shots and a right hand that grazed Geale on the back of the head.
It was a punch that was enough to knock Geale down, spelling trouble very early for him.
GGG knockdown punch in Round 2 , kind of behind the head not flush. #Boxing #GolovkinGeale pic.twitter.com/Jgy3twkrR1
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) July 27, 2014
Geale began to move even more in the following round, making Golovkin miss a lot and beginning to frustrate him.
Geale then exchanged with Golovkin, landing a good right hand, but was unaware of a right hand coming right back from Golovkin.
Perhap the scariest part was that Golovkin’s right hand landed soon after he was hit himself, which is usually not a powerful punch.
Nevertheless, Geale’s momentum coming forward and Golvkin’s power were enough to knock down Geale.
Geale got up on wobbly legs and was clearly hurt, which forced the referee to stop the fight.
In his post-fight interview with HBO’s Max Kellerman, Golovkin stressed that his focus was on the Middleweight division.
“I want a unification fight,” said Golvkin, mentioning Peter Quillin and Miguel Cotto as possible opponents.
'I want unification fight at 160. Miguel Cotto, Peter Quillin. You need amazing show I'm here, call me, I'm ready" pic.twitter.com/DrbA2oqomD
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) July 27, 2014
Golovkin stressed that he would especially like to fight Miguel Cotto, which would be the most lucrative fight that could happen for him.
If there were still any doubts about Golovkin’s talent and power, they were erased tonight–as he easily ran through a legitimate top 10 Middleweight opponent.
Although Cotto is the lineal Middleweight champion, it is clear that the 32-year-old knockout machine from Karaganda, Kazakhstan is the top fighter in the Middleweight division.
