Photo by Will Hart/HBO Boxing
Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29 KOs) dominated Martin Murray (29-2-1, 12 KOs) in nearly every round en route to an 11th-round TKO stoppage to successfully defend his WBA, IBO and interim WBC titles.
The 32-year-old Middleweight phenom from Kazakhstan continued his knockout streak today with his 19th consecutive knockout against his toughest opponent yet.
A determined and fearless Murray, who in the eyes of some was an undefeated fighter due to a controversial draw and a loss to Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez respectively, began the fight strong, but was nonetheless careful.
With a tight peek-a-boo stance, the 32-year-old native of the United Kingdom used his legs and jab to prevent Golovkin from finding his rhythm.
The game plan seemed to work in Round 2 when Murray was able to land a few right hands. He would then follow his quick shots by clinching Golovkin, which did a good job of stifling Golovkin’s counter shots.
Murray then began to taunt Golovkin in Round 3, as if to ask, “Where’s the power?”
That all changed in Round 4 when Golovkin began to follow his offense with shorter steps to provide himself with the right amount of distance to prevent Murray from clinching and to begin landing bombs.
Body shot #Boxing #GolovkinMurray pic.twitter.com/0DmXiVk5iO
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) February 21, 2015
Golovkin then scored his first knockdown over Murray with a right hook to the body.
Murray took a knee after a delayed reaction to the body shot, but only to be swarmed and knocked down again by a now blood-thirsty Golovkin.
Whatever confidence Murray gained in the opening round was completely gone and, for better or worse, what remained was the heart and chin of a legitimate Middleweight.
Golovkin then spent the next seven rounds landing uppercuts, left hooks, and right hands in creative ways around Murray’s peek-a-boo stance as he corned Murray from one side of the ring to another.
According to HBO’s final punchstats, Golovkin landed 292 punches out of an astounding 816 thrown (36%), while Murray only landed 131 punches out of 469 thrown (28%).
Neither Murray himself nor his corner had any intention of stopping the fight, even after a knockdown in Round 10 sent him flying onto the canvas.
It was another right hand that wobbled Murray’s legs in Round 11 that finally forced referee Luis Pabon to stop the fight.
Golovkin walked away nearly unscathed despite getting hit with a few right hands during the fight.
In his post-fight interview with HBO’s Max Kellerman, Golovkin stated that he would like to fight lineal Middleweight champion Miguel Cotto.
After yet another knockout performance today, a fight with Cotto seems highly unlikely.
