Just moments ago we had a brutal treat from the Super Arena in Saitama as Gennady Golovkin (42-1-1, 37) [Геннадий Геннадьевич Головкин] unified the IBF Middleweight and WBA "Super" Middleweight titles, as he stopped Japanese tough guy Ryota Murata (16-3, 13) [村田 諒太] in a brilliant, brutal and hard hitting bout.
The first was nip and tuck as both men looked to get their distance punches into play, with both landing crisp and clean jabs. The round saw a lot of Murata pressing and pressuring behind his tight guard, and Golovkin showing off quicker handspeed and better footwork. Muratra found his groove in round 2 and his pressure began to have real succes as he walked down the distance and get intosde to land left hooks to the body and some huge right hands up top, whilst walking though a lot of good work by Golovkin. Whilst Murata was having sustained success through the rounds, Golovkin was much more reserved and tended to throw eye catching combinations, rather than sustaining any work. It seemed clear that Golovkin, at the age of 40, knew he had to fight smartly, and not set a high tempo from the off. By round 4 the bout was incredibly close, but that's where things began to change as Golovkin took over in round 5, setting a high work rate, and taking the fight to Murata more regularly. It was here that Murata began to slowly be worked down, chipped away at and forced to take more and more heavy shots. Golovkin's work rate, accuracy and power really began to tell in rounds 6 and 7, and although he was putting a lot in to the rounds, he was handing out a lot of punishment. Murata had moments in those rounds, but really struggled with consistency, and it seemed clear he was struggling to get Golovkin's respect. Whilst Golovkin clearly had his! In round 8 it was clear Golovkin wanted to make a statemend and let his shots go regularly on Murata, who was forced to cover up, back up and head on to the ropes several times. It was now a real test not just of Murata's will to win, but his toughness and his chin. Some how he was holding up to the huge shots Golovkin was landing, but round by round they became ever more consistent, whilst his return fire became more and more limited. It was clear Golovkin was on his way to victory, but the real question was "How is Murata staying up?" as Golovkin began to land his much vaunted power shots almost at will. In round 9, finally, Golovkin's powetr had the break through as he sagged Murata's legs early in the round and later on landed a brutal left hook, that rould have beheaded mere mortals. The shot turned damn near turned Murata around, before he sank to the canvas. Murata's team knew their man was done and threw in the towel whilst Murata must have wondered what had hit him. Whilst this was a brilliant effort from Murata, who showed his toughness and grit, he really did come unstuck after round 4. And the punishment he took here, at the age of 36 probably spells the end of him as a top fighter. Maybe sending him into retirement, and more TV work, something that he's done quite a bit of and he has proven to be an excellent analyst. As for Golovkin, he may have won the fight, but it's really hard to know what's next for him. He won, but he took punishment, and aged 40 this may well have been a last hurrah for a true legend of the sport. He clearly wants a third bout with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, but in reality we don't see that ending well for him, and it may well be time he sets off into the sunset on what was a great win, in a fantastic bout.
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After more than a year out of the ring we saw Kazakh great Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36) [Геннадий Геннадьевич Головкин] return to action tonight as he successfully defended his IBF and IBO Middleweight titles against the horrifically over-matched Polish challenger Kamil Szeremeta (21-1, 5), in one of the most one-sided bouts we will see this year.
The opening round saw Golovkin dominate behind a busy jab early on through the round before going deeper into his arsenal, landing an eye catching uppercut and brutal left hook that dropped Szeremeta at the very end of the round. It was clear there and then that Szeremeta was not going to be in the bout, at all. To his credit the Pole got to his feet and came bout out for round 2, and once again he was on the wrong end of an horrific 3 minutes, being dropped for the second time in the bout. To his credit Szeremeta showed absolute no quit, and managed to survive a torrid round 3 by remaining on his feet for the full 3 minutes. He took a whooping but some how avoided being dropped during the round. The challenger was however down again for a third time in round 4, as Golovkin's power, pressure and incessant jab just became too much for Szeremeta, who really was takin a lot of punishment and being broken down. It seemed like the bout was going to be over incredibly soon and Johnathan Banks, working Golovkin's corner, even made a comment about waiting to go home to Golovkin. Instead Golovkin took his time, and seemed, at times, to be carrying Szeremeta a little bit, in rounds 5 and 6. He was still landing clean, but he seemed happy to get some ring time, and try things, even showing some very un-Golovkin like head movement. In round 7 we saw Golovkin score his 4th knockdown of the fight, with a jab. Szeremeta got back to his feet, again, and saw out the round. Thankfully however the bout wasn't going to last much longer, with the referee waving off the bout in the corner between rounds 7 and 8. For Golovkin this was the ideal comeback after a long lay off. It was dominant, it was easy, it was controlled and a chance to shake some ring rust. It was however relatively pointless for fans, and with DAZN repeatedly echoing the fact this was Golovkin's 21st successful defenses things did get a bet annoying to listen to. As for Szeremeta, this could well be a career ending beating. He took a lot of punishment, and we wouldn't be surprised if he was damaged good next time we see him in then On paper the month of October looked good for fight fans, but it's hard to really believe how lucky we've been already, with the first weekend of the month giving us a thrilling, dramatic and action packed Middleweight title bout.
The bout in question saw Kazakhstan's Gennady Golovkin's (40-1-1, 35) [Геннадий Геннадьевич Головкин] become a 2-time world champion as he reclaimed the IBF Middleweight title in a narrow, and very hard fought, bout against talented Ukrainian fighter Sergey Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10). Golovkin got off to the ideal start. He looked sharp from the off and dropped Derevyanchenko with a right hand. He had landed a big one earlier in the round and looked like he could be on for a relatively easy win. Derevyanchenko got up from the knockdown, but was hurt again late in the round. The second round was another that went really well for the Kazakh who landed a big left hook, and found success with his body shot and jab. Derevyanchenko was also hindered by suffering a cut in the round. After 2 rounds it really did seem like the 37 year old Golovkin was on route to a straight forward win.The bout however turned in round 3 when Derevyanchenko began to turn the bout into a dog fight, getting up close and getting success to the body. The Ukrainian's body attack hurt Golovkin and put the Kazakh on the back foot, making him cover up. For one of the first times in his career it seemed like Golovkin was hurt, and Derevyanchenko knew how to get to the Golovkin. Through the middle rounds the pressure and body shots of Derevyanchenko caught the eye, and he really seemed to have adapted a gameplan that not only let him have success, but also smothered the power of Golovkin who couldn't get full extension on his shots. Golovkin managed to build some success of his own as he found his range again in round 6. It was a much better round for the Kazakh, though Derevyanchenko did hold his own through the round. It was a platform for Golovkin who managed to have more success in round 7, one of his best rounds. It looked like the KAzakh was turning the tide in his favour, but he was putting a lot in and really was looking his 37 years in the corner, as he sat breathing very heavily. The 8th started with a doctor's inspection of the Derevyanchenko's cut, which was ruled to have come from a headclash back in round 2, and the doctor was happy to let the fight go on. It was another great round of back and forth action, and one where Golovkin had some of his best success, with 2 huge body shots. The pressure continued to come from Derevyanchenko but it was less effective as he began to tire. Incredibly however Derevyanchenko came roaring back in rounds 9 and 10, having Golovkin again in his shell and backing up under the pressure of Derevyanchenko and his quick combinations when he came in. By the championship rounds it was clear the bout was close, it had been gruelling and both men were looking tired. Derevyanchenko again tried to apply his pressure but struggled to have consistency through the round, whilst the more conservative Golovkin landed the higher quality shots. That was the case in the final 2 rounds, as Derevyanchenko fought on will, more than skill, as he continued to try and impress the judges. After 12 rounds, something that seemed unlikely after the start Golovkin had had, we went to the judges. The fight had been close, and could have gone either way, and when cards of 114-113 and 115-112, twice, were read out, it was unclear which way they were going. Unfortunately for Derevyanchenko they didn't go his way, instead they went with the Kazakh, who had been pushed hard in one of his toughest bouts. Through the fight it seemed like Golovkin had shown his age. The 37 year old couldn't keep the intensity that we'd seen earlier in his career, and he was backed up a lot more often than we'd typically see from him. He was slower, less active, and hurt, several times, from body shots. For Derevyanchenko this was a second, razor thin, loss in a world title bout. The post fight comments seemed to suggest a rematch could be in the offing, and if that happens we'd love to see it, though we feel that perhaps it's time for Golovkin to hang them up. He looked his age, he looked like a man who had been in a lot of hard bouts and seems a lot, lot more beatable than he has in the past. He took the win, and maybe this is the perfect time to hang them up, going out on a high as the IBF champion, and putting to bed any chance of losing again. The problem with super-fights is they very rarely live up to the hope and expectation. Tonight however we had one of those rare fights that lived up to the marketing, the hype and fans hopes and dreams, and what a fight it was as Middleweight supremacy was settled, and we were able to see something truly memorable. Soured only by the judges ringside who, once again, saw something very different to the reality in the ring.
The bout in question saw Kazakh destroyer Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33) take on Mexican icon Saul Alvarez (49-1-2, 34) in a bout for the WBA, WBC, IBF, IBO and Ring Magazine Middleweight titles. It was a bout that had been spoken about for weeks, every boxing fan had some sort of view on the bout and it promised so much, yet delivered even more. The fight perfectly for Alvarez who had a dream start as he looked too quick and too explosive for the older, slower Golovkin. The Kazakh struggled to get his range as the Mexican just used his edge in speed and youth to take control and use Golovkin's pressure against him. The early work of Canelo made it look like he was going to find life easy but in round 3 his speed started to decline just a touch and Golovkin began to find his range, with his pressure beginning to take effect. As the pressure from Golovkin grew so did his success as he repeatedly walked Canelo back to the ropes and unloaded. The pressure forced Canelo to work hard to create openings, and although he was trying to fight as a counter puncher he was taking significantly more than he was giving and often he was forced to take the heavier and more telling shots. From round 3 to 10 the fight took the same basic approach round after round. Golovkin would force Canelo back, Canelo would fight off the ropes in spurts, but would never be able to earn the respect of the Kazakh who walked through everything without even blinking whilst grinding down the Mexican. Canelo landed huge rights,massive uppercuts but couldn't slow down Golovkin who came through them like the terminator and landed his own shots, in much higher volume than Alvarez. In the final two rounds Canelo came alive slightly, managing to find the energy to fight hard for about a minute of each round. Though he was then forced back, and the typical action of the fight continued, with Golovkin forcing Alvarez on to the backfoot and limit his activity. At the end of the fight it seemed clear that Golovkin had won, he had taken rounds 4-10 with no argument at all, and the closest it could have been, giving Canelo every close round, was 115-113. The reality however was that the fight had been more of a 10-2 or 9-3 fight in Golovkin's favour. Somehow though Adelaide Byrd, a judge who is now gaining a really serious reputation for outlandish cards, had scored the bout 118-110 to Canelo, a card that simply made no sense and really needs to be scrutinised in the most serious of fashion. The second card was on the edges of reality, at 115-113 for Golovkin whilst the third was 114-114, forcing a split draw. After the fight both men were interviewed, and the reactions of the crowd said it all as they cheered Golovkin and heavily booed Canelo. The crowd were pissed about the decision, and had every reason to be as there was a clear winner, denied his glory and the fight was left with a disgusting black mark against due to the judging. Boxing has it's upsets, it has it's real moments of magic and it also has it's moments that leave us empty. Tonight we had had an upset that shook the boxing world, as Srisaket Sor Rungvisai out battled and out fought Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez to claim the WBC Super Flyweight title, in an upset of the year contender. Around 1 hour later we saw the Middleweight division leave us with a foul taste.
That taste has been left due to a poor decision by the judges that left the WBC, IBF, IBO and WBA “Super” titles all with Kazakh Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33) who seemed to be out boxed, out though and out sped by American Daniel Jacobs (32-2, 29). In fact it seemed so clear that Jacobs won that that it really will be one of the bouts that ends up being discussed as the “robbery of the year” come December. The fight started tentatively, with both men showing a lot of respect to the other man. Coming in both were vaunted punchers and both were considered real dangers to the other, meaning that the tentative nature was understandable. The first 3 rounds were all close, they were too tentative to really call a clear winner, but if there was a man coming off better in them it was Jacobs, who seemed to out land and out skill a rather predictable and overcautious Golovkin. The Kazakh did land some solid jabs, but their American just seemed to land the more varied and more consistent leather. The first really clear round was round 4, a round that saw Golovkin's power secure him the round with a knockdown. The knockdown wasn't a heavy one, and Jacobs looked like he was hungrier afterwards, but it was a knockdown that essentially put Golovkin back into the picture. The success Golovkin had in round 4 seemed to inspire him in the following round, but Jacobs stood his ground more often and although he was tagged a fair bit he was firing back, using his better speed and lateral movement to more than hold his own. Having realised he could take Golovkin's power Jacobs had a sensational 6th round, which saw him really take the fight to Golovkin and land some seriously big leather on to the Kazakh. Golovkin did well to never look hurt, but the bombs were landing from Jacobs who looked like he was building in confidence. That confidence continued to grow with Jacobs again having sustained success in round 7, despite taking some heavy shots late. Golovkin seemed to sense the fight was slipping away and came out for round 8 faster than he had earlier on. It was a good start by the Kazakh but by the end of the round Jacobs seemed to have done enough with his combinations and to impress and to over-come the slow start to the round, Jacobs was becoming over-confident at times and that was most obvious in round 9 when he was wobbled big time, following a big uppercutt and right hand from the Kazakh who looked close to dropping Jacobs for a second time. The American, to his credit, withstood the assault, hold and saw his way through the round. It seemed like it would be the start of a charge from Golovkin but in round 10 Jacobs was again the man shining with a number of big left hands and a lovely flowing variety from his shots. The American didn't looked phased in round 11 either when Golovkin tried to turn the screw and instead the was Jacobs who seemed to land the better shots, though Golovkin landed the single best shot which was a cracking uppercutt. Going in to the final round it seemed like Golovkin would need a stoppage to retain his title, he however struggled to connect with much cleanly. It was a round he won but not one that saw him hurt Jacobs. At the end it felt like a fight like Jacobs had won, despite the knockdown. He neutralised Golovkin, for the most part, he hand landed the eye catching flurries, he had boxed brilliantly through the fight and it looked like he felt he'd won whilst Golovkin looked like he felt he'd lost. Despite the bout feeling like a close but clear win for Jacobs, the judges all disagreed, scoring it 114-113 and 115-112, twice, in favour of Golovkin. The Kazakh had seemingly gotten out of jail with 3 very cards, in a bout that he really didn't do enough to win. Interestingly the final round, which Golovkin won with ease, was essentially the thing that turned a split decision into a unanimous decision. One thing we will admit is that bout does seem to have split fans, with plenty suggesting that Golovkin's jab was the key punch and earned him the win. Whilst we can see the argument that Golovkin's jab was the most significant punch during the fight, we can't help but feel that it wasn't ever enough to overcome the combinations of Jacob's on the whole. Middleweight destroyer Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33) continued his reign as the WBC, IBF, WBA Super and IBO Middleweight champion earlier today as he scored a 5th round TKO over brave Englishman Kell Brook (36-1, 25). With Brook giving a much better effort than many had expected.
The first saw Golovkin look for a KO from the opening seconds and he buzzed Brook in the opening moments. Brook however bit down on his gum shield, showed his cojones and started to fight back. The Englishman had success in the later stages of the opening round and then build on that success with an excellent effort in round 2, landing some nasty shots including a vicious uppercut whilst taking advantage of Golovkin's wreckless aggression. Despite the success of Brook in round 2 he did appear to suffer some facial damage with the fighter himself suffering a pretty clear eye injury. In round 3 Golovkin stepped it up and really started the round aggressively with some damaging shots to Brook in the first half of the round. The second half of the round saw Brook again boxing well, settling to the task at hand with some solid shots. Again Brook grew success from success and in round 4 the Englishman again had some genuine moments as his confidence built, though he was forced to take some bombs, including a monster on the bell. In round 5 Golovkin got off to a fast start and hurt Brook early in the round before landing shot after shot. Brook remained on his feet but took a pounding with his corner trying to pull their man out. Golovkin continued to land until the referee finally saw Brook's corner waving the towel and stepped in. The Kazakh destroyer didn't look his best. From the off it looked like he lacked respect for Brook, launching ridiculously stupid shots at the Englishman and not using his footwork or his jab properly. Brook was quick on his feet in the early stages but when Golovkin finally got his boxing together, in round 5, the bout looked very one sided. For Brook the loss will be a set back, however it will be one that he will get serious praise from. He will likely continue his career at 154lbs and will almost certainly have notable success going forward, if the injury to his eye isn't too serious long term For the second time in the space of 24 hours fight fans saw a farcical world title fight as Kazakh destroyer Gennady Golovkin (35-0, 32) scarcely broke a sweat defending his WBA “super”, IBF, and WBC “interim” Middleweight titles against the previously unbeaten unbeaten IBF mandatory challenger Dominic Wade (18-1, 12).
The fight, which saw odds of 1/100 on Golovkin was a clear mismatch before it was made, though Wade had spoken the big talk, claiming that he would “break” Golvokin's face and that he was a “thug”. Sadly for Wade that big talk did nothing for him and by the end of the opening round Wade had been dropped, looked like a fish out of water and had scarcely landed a blow of his own. Golovkin hadn't gone hell for leather, in fact Golovkin hadn't even got out of first gear, but was in complete control. Wade was saved by the bell at the end of the opening round, but that scarcely helped with Golovkin licking his lips for round 2. In the second round Golovkin took a few shots, almost by choice, before heavily dropping Wade for a second time. This time it looked like the end but Wade, to his credit got to his feet, then got given a significant amount of extra time as the referee repeatedly asked him to verbally confirm that he wanted to continue. That however was a mistake and only seconds later Golovkin dropped him for a third time, and final, time. Having been stopped Wade became the latest in a growing line of "good boys" that Golovkin has been slicing through in the division's B-tier, it's a shame however that he can't get a prime top contender in the ring. Kazakh star Gennady Golovkin (34-0, 31) continued his dominance of the Middleweight division this past Saturday as he scored an 8th round TKO win over the brave but out matched David Lemieux (34-3, 31). The win, for Golovkin, saw him adding the IBF Middleweight title to his WBA “super” and WBC “interim” belts and take another step towards a total unification of the division.
The fight started tactically for Golovkin who fought behind his accurate and hurtful jab. For the first 4 rounds it was all about the jab which was wonderfully effective as an offensive weapon and seemed to slowly but surely destroy Lemieux's confidence. The Canadian, a vaunted puncher himself, was essentially boxed out of the first for the first 4 rounds as Golovkin showcased little more than just his boxing. In round 5 we saw Golovkin's power as he dropped Lemieux. The knockdown, which came from a body shot, saw Lemieux drop to a knee and sadly the Kazakh showed a little bit of naughtiness as he landed a cheap shot on Lemieux. It was something he apologised for, and something we hadn't seen from him before, but it was perhaps his one dark moment of the fight. Lemieux, who didn't play up the cheap shot, got back to his feet but was never in the bout as Golovkin continued to toy with him, landing his jab at will and mixing up his arsenal as and when he wanted to. The power and accuracy told with Golovkin messing up the nose of the Canadian, who's face looked to be getting broken up for sheer accumulation. With Lemieux being slowly but surely broken down referee Steve Willis seemed to be looking for an opportunity to stop the bout which he found in round 8 when Lemieux was on the receiving end of more powerful blows form Golovkin. With the win it seems likely we'll see Golovkin continue his pursuit for the WBC and WBO titles. For Lemieux however it ends his short reign as a world champion and will likely send him back to Canada, where he will remain a big draw but one with a tarnished legacy after this defeat. |
World Title Results
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