WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on Saturday night (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)
By Chris Robinson
Following WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin’s 8th round stoppage of Curtis Stevens on Saturday night, several insiders from ringside chimed in with their praise towards the Kazakhstani star.
Inside of the Madison Square Garden’s Theater, Golovkin dropped Stevens with a swift left hook in the second round and dished out much more punishment in the following frames before the Brooklyn fighter’s corner elected to stop the action after the eighth.
For HBO analyst Jim Lampley, who called his fourth Golovkin fight last night, he revealed what it’s like watching such a calculated stylist from ringside.
“I thought it was a systematic, effective, technically-pure beat down,” Lampley stated. “It’s always amazing to watch someone with destroyer power who knows everything about the craft and how to use it.”
Respected sportscaster Brian Kenny, now working with Showtime, expressed how he was seemingly taken aback by Stevens’ gritty effort throughout the chaotic eight rounds of action.
“I thought Stevens really tested him,” Kenny stated. “He was defensively responsible, he was firing back. Obviously he didn’t fire back a lot, because Golovkin is just world-class and outstanding and hits so hard and takes a really good shot too.
“I thought it was good test,” Kenny added. “Golovkin was the better guy, obviously. I’d love to see [Stevens] against a lot of other guys in the middleweight division.”
As for Golvokin, Kenny feels we could be looking at the sport’s premier fighter at 160 pounds.
“He’s sensational,” Kenny said. “He’s one of the best in the world, pound for pound. I’d love to see him against Sergio, Kid Chocolate, the top guys in the division. It’s likely, given Sergio’s age, that he would be the best guy in the division.”
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Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com