Gennady Golovkin (29-0, 26 KOs) knocked out Osumana Adama (22-3, 17 KOs) in the seventh round of their WBA and IBO Middleweight title-fight.
The referee was forced to stop the fight after Adama received a left hook that seemed to knock him out on his feet. Adama proved to be too tough for his own good, forcing the referee to prevent him from being seriously injured in the later rounds.
Golovkin applied pressure early, throwing jabs, overhand rights, and left hooks. Golovkin’s pressure was effective, but he didn’t start landing effectively until the last second of the first round, when Adama was dropped by a right hand.
In the third round, Golovkin tried to go for the kill, but was largely unsuccessful in his attempts. Adama worked off his back foot, ducking and slipping many of the punches. Although he lost the round, he showed he wouldn’t be put down that easily.
Indeed, by the fifth, Adama managed to back Golovkin up slightly. Adama landed a solid straight right, but it didn’t seem as if any of his offense could earn Golovkin’s respect. The round ended with Adama once again on his back foot, taking solid shots to the body.
Golovkin continued his pressure into the sixth and seventh, knocking Adama down with a jab. Shortly after, the referee stopped the fight after a Golovkin left hook.
In the post-fight interview, Golovkin stated that for “Floyd Mayweather, I will go down to 154.” Obviously, due to his obligations with HBO, a Mayweather fight would be impossible.
Also, it’d be pretty reckless of Mayweather to fight an opponent who is coming down from Middleweight. Mayweather has admitted, in an interview with FightHype.com, that he believes he is a natural Junior Welterweight, although he has not made 140 in years.
Golovkin made the 26th stoppage of his career, and continues his reign as the de facto successor of the Middleweight throne.
Jerrod Fletcher (18-1, 10 KOs) won a twelve-round unanimous decision over Max Bursak (29-2-1, 12 KOs).
Fletcher was told to use his jab and to box Bursak, who tried to come forward and overpower Fletcher on the inside.
Besides his incessant pressure, Bursak also brought a few dirty tricks. In the second round, in fact, he was deducted a point for punching Fletcher in the back of the head.
In the end of the third round, Bursak also landed a left hook after the bell that visibly hurt Fletcher. The referee warned Bursak, and told him, “Stop your nonsense!”
The nonsense may have been stopped by the later rounds, but Bursak was still applying a lot of pressure. Fletcher seemed to dispose of the game plan at times and began to engage with Bursak on the inside. It was clearly hard for him to keep his composure.
Nevertheless, he was able to box effectively until the final round. Bursak seemed to fight with a sense of urgency in the twelfth, nearly knocking Fletcher down.
The judges, however, appreciated the jab and footwork of Fletcher and scored the bout 111-115, 111-115, 112-114.
Cruiserweight Ilunga Makabu (16-1, 15 KOs) knocked out Ruben Angel Mino (20-1, 20 KOs) in the second round of a scheduled twelve-round fight. Although Mino’s record may seem impressive at first glance, with twenty wins by way of knockout, they were mostly against fighters with terrible records.
Indeed, Mino did not look the part of a serious contender, sporting a huge belly and a considerable height disadvantage. After feeling his opponent out, Makabu knocked Mino out in the second round.
Makabu is a highly-ranked Cruiserweight, and will seek a title-fight in the near future.
Junior Flyweight Rey Loreto (18-13, 10 KOs) knocked out Nkosinathi Joyi (24-3, 17 KOs) in the third round of a scheduled twelve-round fight.
Loreto, who has lost thirteen fights in his career, was too powerful for Joyi. Loreto badly hurt Joyi with a series of punches at the end of the second round, but Joyi was saved by the bell.
Loreto finished the bout by landing a solid left hook that had Joyi knocked out before he hit the ground. Loreto is now the IBO Junior Flyweight champion.
Undefeated Welterweight Roman Belaev (13-0, 10 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Dean Byrne (17-3-1, 6 KOs).
Byrne was overwhelmed by Beleav’s work rate, but put up a tough fight. Byrne seemed to be hurt in the later round and demonstrated his toughness, but he was nonetheless outclassed.
[slideshow_deploy id=’12838′] Photos by Sumio Yamakada
