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Sometimes the absurdity of boxing’s worst business practices results in sheer cruelty in the ring. That was the case with Gennadiy Golovkin who was forced to face mandatory contender for the IBF middleweight title, Kamil Szeremeta, on Friday night. After seven uneven rounds in which Szeremeta was knocked down four times, the referee was finally forced to call off the fight, giving Golovkin the victory by technical knockout and keeping the IBF title firmly in his hands.
Any mystery about whether Szeremeta could be with Golovkin and make the fight competitive disappeared in the first round. Golovkin quickly set up his powerful jab, stifling Szeremeta’s attempt to land the same punch and leading to no significant results on his own. Golovkin followed his jab with a forehand that opened up his power punches, and a flying left hand put Szeremeta in the opening frame.
Szeremeta would fall again in Round 2, this time from a hit with Golovkin’s right hand. Szeremeta again managed to beat the count, but without the power to turn the tide (Szeremeta had only scored five knockouts in 21 professional fights against lower-tier opponents), Golovkin had no reason to take his foot off the gas.
Golovkin would score two more knockdowns, in the fourth and seventh rounds, before the referee had seen enough to call off the fight as the fighters sat on their stools between rounds. It was a merciful finish for Szeremeta, whose toughness was not up to his skill in this outing.
“I respect the coach and Kamil’s corner,” Golovkin said of the stoppage. “They’re very smart because he finished. Come on, guys.
In all, Golovkin outscored Szeremeta 228-59 in total punches landed, including a 94-10 lead on his jabs. In addition to the bad news for Szeremeta in the hitting stats, Golovkin landed 56% of his power shots during the fight.
The obvious play for Golovkin would be a third fight with Canelo Alvarez after his first fight ended in a draw and the second in a narrow majority decision for Alvarez.
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Alvarez fights Saturday night, facing Callum Smith for a pair of super middleweight titles. Golovkin was shy after the fight when asked about the possible trilogy, suggesting that he was open to it, but not fully committed.
“Absolutely, I am open to anyone,” Golovkin said. “The best opponent for me, for business, for DAZN, for people? We’ll wait until tomorrow. I hope tomorrow is a great event. Who wins? I’m open.”
CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Friday. Be sure to follow the live results and highlights below.
Fight card, results
- Gennadiy Golovkin def. Kamil Szeremeta by seventh round TKO
- Hyun Mi Choi (c) def. Calista Silgado by unanimous decision (97-93, 99-91, 98-92)
- John Ryder def. Michael Guy via unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 96-94)
- Carlos Gongora def. Ali Akhmedov by technical knockout in the 12th round
- Reshat Mati def. Dennis Okoth by sixth round TKO
GGG vs Szeremeta scorecard, live coverage
|
Golovkin |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
who |
60 |
|||||
|
Sheremeta |
8 |
8 |
9 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
51 |
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