Golovkin makes short work of Martirosyan with 2nd round KO

CARSON, Calif. — Gennady Golovkin won his 20th consecutive middleweight title defense with a second-round knockout of Vanes Martirosyan on Saturday night.

Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) tied Bernard Hopkins’ record for middleweight title defenses by sending Martirosyan down at 1:53 of the second round.

After being tagged with a strong three-punch combination from Martirosyan (36-4-1) late in the first round, Golovkin responded with a devastating charge in the second. He started the onslaught with a short left and pounced on the damaged Martirosyan, finally dropping him with two powerful lefts.


The fight was arranged at the last minute after Golovkin’s rematch with Canelo Alavarez fell apart. Golovkin and Alvarez fought to a draw last September and were set to meet again in Las Vegas on Cinco de Mayo before Alvarez was suspended for six months by the Nevada Athletic Commission in April after failing a March drug test.

With the lucrative fight against Alvarez scuttled until this fall at the earliest, Golovkin was eventually able to put together a replacement bout in Southern California, where he built up a strong following with a series of title defenses at StubHub Center and the Forum. Despite short notice and a modest card, promotors expected Golovkin to draw a record-crowd for boxing at StubHub Center of more than 9,000.

Golovkin said he would take on all comers, including Alvarez.

“I want everyone,” Golovkin said. “I have a lot of belts. I challenge anyone to come and take my belts. I don’t care who. Let’s clean out the division.”

In the first women’s fight on HBO in the cable network’s 45-year history of broadcasting boxing, undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus (33-0) remained undefeated with a unanimous decision win over Kali Reis (13-7-1).

Braekhus won 97-92, 96-93 and 96-93 on the three scorecards despite being knocked down to one knee by a hard right from Reis in the seventh round. Reis nearly dropped Braekhus again in the eighth with another hard right, and the crowd booed when the result was announced after Reis’ late charge.

UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg attended the fight and confirmed her interest in boxing against Braekhus.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Fighting is family affair for Golovkin

Gennady Golovkin has travelled the globe winning boxing matches in 22 cities and seven different countries to earn his Las Vegas debut on Saturday.

The 35-year-old Golovkin has waited years for the arrival of this career-defining superfight against Mexico’s biggest star Canelo Alvarez.

It is also the three-belt champion’s first fight in Las Vegas and it fittingly comes against the toughest opponent he has ever faced in a career which has been defined by a steady jab and explosive knockout power.

“The biggest day is coming,” Golovkin said. “This is my game. My fight, I am the boss. I am the champion.”

That was a mouthful from Golovkin. All week long during the build up to Saturday’s fight at the T-Mobile Arena for middleweight supremacy, the reserved Golovkin has said he prefers doing his talking in the ring.

When reporters asked him on Wednesday about the birth of his second child, which happened last Friday, he said, “Please don’t ask me about my family. I am just focused on boxing.”

His boxing career started in his native Kazakhstan. Growing up in a family of four boys, if he wasn’t scrapping with his brothers at home he was fighting much older and bigger kids in the streets.

He had his first professional fight in 2006 at age 24 after a superb amateur career which included a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. His fought in Germany and Denmark before joining forces with trainer Abel Sanchez who taught him how to maximize his strengths.

Sanchez and Golovkin teamed up for fights in Panama, Kazakhstan, Germany and Ukraine before Golovkin made his US debut in 2012.

Golovkin’s twin brother, Max, said Gennady is a very private person.

“Nobody knows about it because camp is always closed,” Max Golovkin said. “No one knows how dedicated and focused and concentrated he is.”

Max knows Gennady better than anyone. They had an older brother, Vadim, who helped introduce them to the sport and another brother, Sergey, who took time to work with them as well.

Two brothers died

Tragically both brothers were killed in separate incidents during Russian government service.

The funeral for Vadim, who died first, was held with an empty casket. The family is still trying to find out the details of what happened.

Gennady named his first child, a boy, Vadim.

Max is also on Gennady’s mind when he fights. The family didn’t have much money so when Gennady turned 18 he was the one they picked to pursue a boxing career.

“They chose Gennady should continue his career,” Max said.

When you consider Gennady’s difficult journey to the pinnacle of his profession it is easy to see why he insists on taking nothing for granted.

They say styles make fights and this one has the ingredients to be the start of a special rivalry.

Alvarez insisted on a rematch clause for the fight which some are hoping is the beginning of boxing’s newest trilogy series like Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera and Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti.

Golovkin says he’s willing to take on all comers and can’t wait to get into the ring with Canelo, comparing the excitement to being with a new lover.

“It is like you are going with your new girlfriend. Oh yeah,” he said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Canelo Alvarez knocks out Amir Khan, retains title

LAS VEGAS — Canelo Alvarez needed only one big right hand to turn a close fight into a smashing knockout.

Struggling with Amir Khan’s speed, Alvarez unleashed a long right hand that send Khan backward on the canvas, where referee Kenny Bayless didn’t even bother to count him out at 2:37 of the sixth round.

Alvarez retained his piece of the middleweight title, but it was not without some nervous moments for his fans who packed the new T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip. Khan was more than holding his own in a tactical fight when the right hand suddenly ended it.

Alvarez went and kneeled before an unconscious Khan, then went over and motioned to Gennady Golovkin, who was ringside, to join him in the ring for a fight.

“I invited him to come into the ring,” Alvarez said. “Right now I will put the gloves on again.”

It may not take too long for the fight boxing fans have been waiting for to happen, though the weight could be an issue. Alvarez wants the bout to be less than the 160-pound middleweight limit, while Golovkin, who holds his own piece of the middleweight crown, vows to fight at his best weight.

“I am old school,” Golovkin said just before the fight. “Middleweight is 160. I respect the sport of boxing.”

Khan, a 6-1 underdog, had vowed to use his speed to confound Alvarez and his plan seemed to be working. He fought in spurts, landing combinations and seemingly frustrating Alvarez with his movement.

But a right hand that came out of nowhere landed flush against Khan’s chin, and he was out before he hit the canvas.

“I was getting in the ring with a big guy,” Khan said. “Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the end.”

Alvarez was making the first defense of the WBC title he won from Miguel Cotto in November, though the fight was fought at a catch weight of 155 pounds. The WBC has said it will take the tile from Alvarez if he does not begin talks for a fight with Golovkin within 15 days.

“I don’t fear anyone,” Alvarez said. “We don’t come to play in this sport.”

A pro-Alvarez crowd filled the new arena on the Las Vegas Strip for his first fight on the Mexican holiday weekend that Floyd Mayweather Jr. usually fought on. They came expecting to see Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 knockouts) put on a show, though he had trouble with Khan’s speed and movement in the early rounds.

Alvarez chased after Khan (31-4) from the first round on, trying to cut the ring off and corner him on the ropes. He was largely unsuccessful, and Khan answered with combinations to the head, though they seemed to have little effect on the red-haired Mexican champion.

Ringside punch stats showed Khan landing 48 of 166 punches to 64 of 170 for Alvarez.

Alvarez was up on two ringside judges’ scorecards when the fight ended, while Khan was leading by one point on the third.

“People have known me only for my power,” Alvarez said. “I have many more qualities in the ring and I showed that. I think people saw more of me.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Mayweather slowing down, can be beaten by Pacquiao, says Golovkin trainer

Abel Sanchez, the trainer of world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin thinks that father time is starting to catch up with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather.

Mayweather toppled Marcos Maidana with ease in his last fight but showed signs of decline according to Sanchez.

"I thought Floyd won easily, but Floyd is slowing down," told Sanchez in an interview with fighthype.com. "He's getting old like everybody that is at that level for such a long time."

Sanchez thinks that Pacquiao is on the right track since suffering a brutal knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.

He even gave Pacquiao a better chance of beating Mayweather now should the much-awaited showdown finally come to fruition.

"In the past I thought that Mayweather would win the fight easily. I think the knockout by Marquez on Pacquiao kind of rejuvenated his career, his mentality, his efforts, his commitment to the gym," said Sanchez.

"Sometimes a loss like that could be a blessing. Now I see it more as an even fight." — JST, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Rising star Golovkin knocks out Macklin via liver punch

Gennady Golovkin continued his undefeated run with a third round knockout against Matthew Macklin, Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) at MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort.

Golovkin, a Kazakh who now resides in Germany, landed a picture-perfect left hook to the body that dropped his opponent. Macklin folded after the punch was landed and he stayed on the canvas long after referee Eddie Cotton ended his ten count. The official time of stoppage was at 1:22 of the third round.

With the win, Golovkin defended his IBO and WBA middleweight titles. He also remained undefeated, winning all of his 27 fights with an impressive 24 knockouts under his name.

Macklin engaged Golovkin in an exciting match from the very start. Even if Golovkin had an astounding 88 percent knockout percentage, Macklin fought him toe-to-toe in the first two rounds, even landing a few big right straights of his own. His corner instructed the challenger to keep moving towards his right to make it harder for Golovkin to land his vaunted rights. However, this set Macklin up perfectly for Golovkin’s left hook.

In the third round, Golovkin caught Macklin on the ropes. He landed left and right uppercuts which ever so slightly made Macklin adjust his defense. When Macklin’s body opened up, Golovkin landed a devastating left hook, which is often called the liver punch in boxing parlance, to end the fight.

Macklin’s record fell to 29 wins against five losses. - CLP, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com