WITH middleweight legend Marvelous Marvin Hagler looking on from ringside at the Salle des Etoiles in Monaco, unbeaten WBA and IBO champion Gennady Golovkin continued his march toward 11st 6lbs greatness, defending his belts for the second time in 2013 with a blistering third-round knockout of Japanโs Nobuhiro Ishida on March 30th.
The win was as emphatic as you could hope for from a โkeep-busyโ bout, and while Ishida entered the title fight having lost three of his previous five, albeit to Rigoberto Alvarez, Paul Williams and Dmiry Pirog, he had also never been stopped in 34 pro bouts, a streak ended by the increasingly popular โGGG,โ who had halted Gabriel Rosado in seven rounds in January.
Golovkin (11st 5 1/2lbs) got his work done in less than half the time on this night, and it only took him around 30 seconds to get a read on the taller Ishida (11st 4lbs).
Once he did, he took a flying leap inside with two left hooks, kicking off his offensive assault.
Ishida calmly dealt with Golovkinโs early attacks, though, firing back and catching the champion with a stiff jab and solid hooks that declared him ready to fight and not intimidated at all by the feared knockout artist.
Ishida, 37, continued to stand in the pocket with Golovkin in the second, a course of action that didnโt prove the wisest after he ate several left hands from different angles that jarred him. After clearing his head, Ishida threw back at Golovkin, but his punches werenโt having any effect on the Kazakhstan native, who walked right through the blows to land his much more concussive shots.
Walking back to his corner with a cut under his right eye, Ishida needed to switch things up if he wanted to make a run at the belt, but having smelled blood Golovkin was going to go for the finish in round three, and he got what he wanted soon enough.
With just under a minute left in the round, Golovkin struck with a laser-like right hand and Ishida fell as if struck by lightning, with his upper body going through the ropes and landing on the ring apron. Referee Stanley Christodoulou waved off the bout without a 10 count at 2-20 of the round, putting an end to Golovkinโs seventh successful title defence.
โI respect my opponent, he was a strong man and a good fighter,โ said Golovkin. โWhoโs next? It doesnโt matter. Iโm ready.โ
Itโs hard to argue with him at this point, and hopefully what his promoter, K2 Promotions, hopes to be a four to five-fight 2013 campaign will include a bout (or bouts) with a big name like Sergio Martinez or Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr.
Itโs clear that the 30-year-old Golovkin is in another league from the Gabriel Rosados and Nobuhiro Ishidas of the world.
Golovkin improves to 26-0 (23), while Osakaโs Ishida falls to 24-9-2 (9).