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Sometimes the absurdity of boxing’s worst business practices translates into sheer cruelty in the ring. This was the case with Gennadiy Golovkin forced to face IBF middleweight title contender Kamil Szeremeta on Friday night. After seven unbalanced rounds which saw Szeremeta knocked down four times, the referee was finally forced to call off the fight, giving Golovkin the TKO victory and keeping the IBF title firmly within his grasp.
Any mystery as to whether Szeremeta could hang on to Golovkin and make the fight competitive was gone in the first round. Golovkin quickly established his powerful jab, stifling Szeremeta’s attempt to throw the same punch and yielded no significant results. Golovkin followed his jab with a dull right hand that opened up his powerful punches, and a winged left hand placed Szeremeta in the opening frame.
Szeremeta would come down in the second round, this time with a right hand from Golovkin in club. Szeremeta managed to beat the count again, but without the power to turn the tide – Szeremeta had scored just five knockouts in 21 pro fights against lower-level opposition – Golovkin had no reason to take his foot off the table ‘accelerator.
Golovkin would score two more knockouts, in rounds four and seven, before the referee saw enough and gave up the fight as the fighters sit on their stools between rounds. It was a merciful end for Szeremeta, whose tenacity did not match his skills in this outing.
“Respect to the coach and Kamil’s corner,” Golovkin said of the save. “They’re very smart because he’s done. Come on, guys.”
Overall, Golovkin beat Szeremeta 228-59 in total punches, including a 94-10 advantage in his jabs. Adding to the bad news for Szeremeta in the punch stats, Golovkin landed 56% of his strength shots during the fight.
The obvious game for Golovkin would be a third fight with Canelo Alvarez after their first fight ended in a draw and the second in a narrow majority decision for Alvarez.
Alvarez fights on Saturday night, facing Callum Smith for a pair of super middleweight titles. Golovkin was shy after the fight when asked about the potential trilogy, suggesting he was open to it, but not fully engaged.
“Absolutely, I’m open to everyone,” Golovkin said. “Best opponent for me, for business, for DAZN, for people? We’ll wait until tomorrow. Hope tomorrow is a big event. Who wins? I’m open.”
CBS Sports was with you the entire trip on Friday. Be sure to follow the live scores and highlights below.
Battle card, results
- Gennadiy Golovkin beats. Kamil Szeremeta 7th round TKO
- Hyun Mi Choi (c) defeats. Calista Silgado via unanimous decision (97-93, 99-91, 98-92)
- John Ryder beats. Michael Guy by unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 96-94)
- Carlos Gongora beats. Ali Akhmedov via TKO in the 12th round
- Reshat Mati def. Dennis Okoth via TKO in the sixth round
GGG scoreboard vs. Szeremeta, live coverage
|
Golovkin |
ten |
ten |
ten |
ten |
ten |
ten |
WHO |
60 |
|||||
|
Sheremeta |
8 |
8 |
9 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
51 |
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