No big drama this time for Gennady Golovkin. Just a lot of big punches as he dominated his middleweight title fight with David Lemieux.
Golovkin on Saturday night battered Lemieux around the ring on the big stage at Madison Square Garden, landing punch after punch before the referee mercifully stepped in and stopped the fight in the eighth round. He remains unbeaten in 34 fights, and stopped his opponent for the 21st straight time.
Fighting before a sold-out crowd of 20,548 cheering his every move, Golovkin was methodical as he knocked down Lemieux in the fourth round, bloodied his nose and dominated almost every second of the way.
Photo: AFP
Lemieux was on the ropes taking punch after punch when Steve Willis finally stepped in at 1 minute, 32 seconds of the eighth round to call an end to the fight.
It was a coming out party of sorts for Golovkin, who was headlining his first pay-per-view fight, and he was at his best as he wore down Lemieux with his relentless punching.
“I told you this was a very important fight,” Golovkin said. “I give my fans and friends a big show. Thank you my fans. Thank you my people.”
With the crowd chanting “Triple G, Triple G,” Golovkin showed why he is the most feared man in the heavyweight division with yet another impressive win against an opponent who was supposed to be his best yet.
Lemieux brought a 160-pound title of his own into the ring, but was no match for Golovkin, the former amateur star from Kazakhstan who now lives in Los Angeles. Lemieux fought gamely, but his punches were mostly wild and he was forced to take punishment in return.
“I’ll keep my mouth shut tonight, but I’ll see him in the future,” said Lemieux, whose face was marked and red after the fight.
With US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump watching from ringside, Golovkin took control of the fight early, with his precise punches finding the mark with regularity. Lemieux seemed tentative, although by the third round he was throwing wild right hands that Golovkin had little trouble avoiding.
Golovkin (34-0, 31 knockouts) hurt Lemieux with a left hook to the head in the fourth round, then unleashed a series of head shots that backed the Canadian against the ropes. From then it was just a matter of time as Golovkin hunted down Lemieux (34-3), eager to knock him out just like he had his 20 previous opponents.
The win put Golovkin in line for a possible mega-fight next spring against the winner of the Nov. 21 fight between Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto.
“He’ll be at the fight and he’ll be looking to fight the winner,” promoter Tom Loeffler said. “Whoever wins that fight will clearly be at the top of the sport, as Gennady is himself.”
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