Golovkin in February 2015
World champion Gennadiy Golovkin of Kazakhstan reacts after defeating Martin Murray of England during the WBA-WBC-IBO Middleweight World Championship in Monte Carlo, early February 22, 2015. Golovkin defended his title, defeating Murray in the 12 rounds. Reuters/Eric Gaillard

Boxing experts and the betting odds didn’t give David Lemieux of Canada much of a chance against middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan in their Saturday bout at the Madison Square Garden in New York, U.S.A. Golovkin proved why on fight night, as he dominated Lemieux finishing the fight in just eight rounds with a technical knockout win.

Golovkin unified the middleweight titles in the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) and improved to a 34-0 win-loss record, with 31 victories coming by way of knockouts. The fighter from Kazakhstan also bagged the International Boxing Organization (IBO) and interim World Boxing Council belts after the win.

Golovkin stated before the fight that he respects Lemieux’s power and skill but that he had better boxing I.Q. than his opponent. He proved that in the opening rounds and downed the Canadian for the first time in the fight in the fifth round. Lemieux’s offence couldn’t penetrate Golovkin’s defence the entire night and couldn’t pull off the upset to drop to 34-3 for his career.

Golovkin’s performance earned him all wins in the judges’ scorecards, 70-62, 70-62 and 70-62 to underscore his dominating performance. The fight stats for the night showed Golovkin landed 280 of 549 punches for 51 per cent success rate with Lemieux landing just 89 of 335 punches for 27 per cent.

Golovkin now waits how other middleweight contenders will fare in their fights in the next few months. Miguel Cotto, the middleweight champion by Ring Magazine, will face Canelo Alvarez on Nov. 21 later this year while no. 2 Andy Lee and no. 3 Peter Quillin will fight Billie Joe Saunders and Daniel Jacobs, respectively, in December.

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