After being knocked down three times, taking a bad beating, but still having a few moments of success with the most feared fighter in the Middleweight division, Willie Monroe Jr. (19-2, 6 KOs) was asked one question by referee Jack Reiss.
“Do you want to continue?,” Reiss asked after the third knockdown.
Monroe, the bravest but latest victim of a knockout streak including 19 previous victims, replied with the frankness of a man who had taken enough punishment for a day’s work, “I’m done.”
With that response, Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29 KOs) scored his 20th consecutive knockout win with a sixth-round stoppage of Monroe in front of over 12,000 fans at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
As is the case in every fight he’s ever been in, Golovkin stalked Monroe with confidence in Round 1, throwing several well-placed jabs before attempting to land combinations on the ropes.
Monroe, 28, used his slick southpaw style to use every inch of the ring to continually keep Golovkin off balance.
For three minutes and three minutes only, it worked.
In the following round, caused in part by Golovkin’s ability to cut the ring off and by Monroe’s increasing confidence, Golovkin sat down on a left hook that immediately sent the native of New York to the canvas.
The left hook that dropped Monroe. Picture perfect. @GGGBoxing @BernieBahrmasel #GolovkinMonroe pic.twitter.com/SGt4M5S5tx
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) May 17, 2015
“We were both in motion and he got me with a good shot. He is strong,” said Monroe, who got up only to be knocked down for a second time.
The end seemed imminent, but Monroe kept his composure in Rounds 3 and 4, and soon began landing combination punches on Golovkin.
Indeed, in Rounds 4 and 5, despite being hurt badly in both rounds, Monroe controlled the rounds with quick jabs, combination punches and a lot of footwork.
Golovkin even asked Monroe to land some of his best shots, but Golovkin responded to them which with an unfazed expression on a head that hardly snapped back at Monroe’s hardest shots.
What was Monroe supposed to do as he landed his best shots on a man who took them with ease?
This, along with Golovkin’s unceasing pressure, broke Monroe down.
Monroe was knocked down again in Round 6 and, after getting up very slowly, Reiss asked him the question that began this story.
After the fight, Golovkin spoke with HBO’s Max Kellerman and reiterated that he wants the biggest fights now.
“I want a unification. Who is number one right now? Bring him, I’ll show you,” said Golovkin, who says he plans to unify a division that is led by WBC and RING titlist Miguel Cotto.
Others on that list include the winner of the June 20 fight between Hassan N’Dam and David Lemieux. Andy Lee, who just drew with Peter Quillin last month, also fits that list.
In the post-fight press conference, Golovkin told RBRBoxing.com that he’d be willing to face any of them as it would get him closer to completely unifying the division the way Bernard Hopkins did over 10 years ago.
Tom Loeffler, Golovkin’s promoter, said Golovkin was talented and active enough to unify the division, but that he’d take it one fight at a time.
It also seems, however, that Golovkin may have to move up or down a division if he wants a bigger fight. Andre Ward, a natural Super Middleweight, and Canelo Alvarez, a natural Junior Middleweight, could also be in his future.
But then again, after another knockout performance in front a packed Forum crowd, who needs a big fight?
Golovkin, it seems, is happy to wait.
All photos by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
