NEW YORK -- Gennady "GGG" Golovkin entered tonight's fight against Daniel "Real Deal" Geale with sky-high expectations, and exceeded them in his first fight in Madison Square Garden's big room. Golovkin knocked Geale down in the second round, then finished him for good in Round 3 with a right hook that Geale couldn't recover from. With his 17th straight knockout victory.
Golovkin retained his WBA and IBO middleweight titles and improved to 30-0-0 with 27 knockouts.
Geale opened the fight with the excellent movement that many believed would make him Golovkin's most difficult opponent, but he was also cut over his right eye. In the second round, Geale continued to move and even land several punches, but an unfazed Golovkin powered through them, cornered Geale, and set him down with a right hook.
In the third round, Geale looked impressive. He made Golovkin miss with several power punches and even shook his hips to try and frustrate him. Golovkin continued to stalk him though, and when Geale threw a right hook that did land, Golovkin was simultaneously throwing his own bomb. Golovkin's shot landed flush on Geale's chin and he was laid flat on his back. Geale rose before the referee finished his count, but he wasn't able to keep going.
Golovkin finished the fight having landed a lower percentage power shots than Geale, but he threw more and had much more zip on them. Golovkin also used his jab effectively, connecting on 23 out of 95 and snapping Geale's head back with most of them.
The two knockdowns electrified Madison Square Garden, and cemented Golovkin as a highlight-reel fighter. In his post fight interview with Max Kellerman, Golovkin stated his intention of unifying the middleweight division. He said that he'd like to start with Miguel Cotto, the WBC middleweight champion who defeated Sergio Martinez a little more than one month ago in the Garden.
Co-Feature
Bryant "By By" Jennings won a split decision over Mike Perez. Judges Glenn Feldman and Joe Pasquale scored the fight in favor of Jennings with scores of 114-113 and 115-112 respectively. Tom Schreck had Perez winning 114-113; while Sports World News scored it 114-113 for Jennings.
Perez likely cost himself at least a draw by getting docked a point for hitting on the break in the final round. With the victory, Jennings became the No. 1 contender for the WBC title and will face the winner of Bermane Stiverne vs. Deontay Wilder which has yet to be scheduled.
The battle was listless throughout, with Jennings moving and jabbing, and Perez choosing to drop his hands and invite attacks that never came. Jennings was the more accurate fighter, and despite landing little of consequence, had enough flurries of power punches to carry him to the victory.
Jennings connected on 38 percent of his power shots while Perez landed 30 percent; whenever Jennings would put together a few hard punches though Perez would simply stick his chin out and blow a mocking kiss. Multiple times Perez stood in front of Jennings with his hands down and a big smile on his face.
Jennings was smiling in the end though, while Perez is headed back to the drawing board after landing just 12 jabs out of 226 thrown. Jennings wasn't much better, connecting on nine percent of his 151 jabs.
Undercard Results:
Julian "Hammer Hands" Rodriguez made quick work of Yankton Southern, dropping him 43 seconds into the fight with a hard body shot he failed to recover from. Rodriguez improved to 5-0-0 with four knockouts.
A cautious Dusty Hernandez-Harrison easily defeated Wilfredo Acuna by unanimous decision, landing crisp shots throughout the fight but rarely pressing for a knockout that seemed attainable. The judges scored the fight 80-72, as did Sports World News.
Ola Afolabi crushed Anthony Caputo Smith in a defense of his IBO cruiserweight title. Afolabi couldn't miss with his uppercuts, and knocked Caputo Smith down twice in the third round. He was able to beat referee Steve Smoger's count, but the fight was stopped by Caputo Smith's corner before Round 4.
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