The boxing world was in for a veritable treat on Saturday, when Gennady Golovkin took on Brooklyn’s own Curtis Stevens at Madison Square Garden.
The heavy-hitting Golovkin (then, 27-0, 24 KO) was set to defend his WBA middleweight title against the very calm, cool and collected Stevens (25-3, 18 KO) . BSO conducted an interview with Stevens just days prior to the bout and the brash Stevens promised to ‘decapitate’ Golovkin.
The co-feature was a 10-round heavyweight match with Cuba’s Mike Perez (19-0, 12 KO) and Magomed Abdusalamov (18-0, 18k). The fight was a brutal one, with hard blows a plenty, and a ferocity which more than whetted the audience’s appetite until the main event. Both fighters came in undefeated, so the match was perceived as a toss up in terms of edge.
However, from the beginning it seemed as if Perez was just hitting harder, tearing right into Abdusalamov, and as the rounds went on and on it was clear Abdusalmov had met his match. Perez took the co-feature by decision with a score of 97-92, 97-92 and 95-94.
Then came time for the main event, when we would see if Triple G would hold on to his beloved title. From the bout’s commencement the tide was solely in Triple G’s favor, as he landed blow upon blow on Stevens.
In round two Stevens was hit by a left hook so hard it knocked him square onto the canvas, and seemed to spell the end for his night. But being the contender that he is, Stevens rebounded from the hard hit and carried on valiantly. Stevens mustered up what stored up energy he had left in the tank and provided us with some intriguing latter rounds, until ultimately falling in the eighth round.
Triple G pinned Stevens to the ropes and cornered him in tightly offering no space for Stevens to even shield the hard hits, yet alone retaliate which lead to stoppage. Giving Stevens his fourth defeat.
Ladies and gentlemen, Gennady Golovkin retains his WBA Middleweight title, (28-0, 25 KO).
As for who Triple G wants to square off in the ring next, the name Sergio Martinez, was mentioned.