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| Photo By Rich Esposito |
Gennady Golovkin Delivers with Chilling
One-Punch Body-Shot Kayo of Matthew Macklin
By Alex Pierpaoli
Photos by Rich Esposito
On Saturday night at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods
Resort Casino in Mashantucket,
CT, Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin
made short work of Matthew “Mack-The-Knife” Macklin, stopping him at 1:22 of
round three with a brutal left-hook to the body. The suddenness and severity of
the victory sent a shockwave through the sport, heralding a new star, and
solidifying his claim to dominance at one hundred
sixty pounds.
From the opening bell, one hundred
fifty-nine pound, Gennady Golovkin, of Kazakhstan
via Stuttgart, Germany,
was able to hurt Matthew Macklin, of Birmingham,
UK, with just
about every punch he landed. In
round one, referee Eddie Cotton missed
a knockdown Golovkin earned off a
right hand blast which sent Macklin reeling back into the ropes which kept him on
his feet. Golovkin’s assault was unrelenting and Macklin, also 159lbs, expected to be a test for the Kazakh, was overwhelmed from the start and facing a foe that would simply
not be denied.
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| Photo By Rich Esposito |
Although the power of Golovkin was clearly on display in the
win, it was also the accuracy and preciseness of his offense that should not go
unnoticed. Afterwards promoter Lou
DiBella said Triple G’s kayo blow was right up there with the greatest body
shot he ever saw live—the blow Roy Jones landed
on the ribs of Virgil Hill that ended
their 1998 contest. At the post-fight press conference, DiBella wondered aloud if this body-shot kayo win was not even better
than that of Roy Jones.
In defending his WBA & IBO 160 pound titles Golovkin
proved definitively he is the force
to be reckoned within the division,
especially considering the fact the undisputed
champion, Sergio Martinez is on the shelf until well into 2014.
In victory Gennady Golovkin improved
to 27-0 (24) and Matthew Macklin dropped
to 29-5 (20).
HBO led their
broadcast with the towering, six foot three inch, junior middleweight, Willie
The Great Nelson, of Cleveland, Ohio, versus Luciano Cuello, of Argentina. When Nelson used his height and reach advantages, coupled with lateral movement, he did well, but when he
stopped moving and when Cuello was
able to walk him down in spots, the tall man looked
hittable and ordinary. Cuello’s doggedness
and a hard left hook that found Nelson’s head repeatedly,
kept the fight close and in the tenth and final round it looked as though Cuello might score an upset kayo when
he had Nelson badly hurt and grabbing.
When the decision came it was an unpopular one, with Nelson
winning unanimously by 96-94 on one card and a wider 97-93 on the other two.
Nelson improved to 20-1-1 (12) and
Cuello fell to 32-2 (16).
Super middleweights Thomas “Tommy Gun” Oosthuizen, of South
Africa, and Brandon Gonzales, of Sacramento, CA, boxed
an uninspiring 10 round draw which left a bad taste in the mouths of ringside
observers, though it was quickly banished
by the sudden viciousness of Triple G’s kayo win. Of the two exceptionally tall
fighters on the card, (Oosthuizen is six foot four) it was Tommy Gun’s
performance that even promoter Lou DiBella found underwhelming.
Despite Compubox figures that showed
how very close the fight was, from ringside this observer thought the fight was
largely one-sided in favor of
Brandon Gonzales and the 98-92 scorecard of Judge Peter Hary was not at all out-of-order.
But Judge Glen Feldman had it 96-94 for Oosthuizen and Judge
Clark Sammartino saw it 95-95 even. Although nothing was really settled, here’s to hoping no one even whispers about a
rematch.
Oosthuizen moved
to 21-0-2 (13) while Brandon Gonzales left CT at 17-0-1 (10).
Framingham,
Massachusetts’ Danny O’Connor
looked impressive in defeating Hector
Munoz of Albuquerque, NM, by 8 round unanimous decision in the 3rd
and final off-TV bout of the night. Although he does not appear to have a lot
of power, O’Connor is a talented
boxer and a very entertaining fighter to watch. O’Connor-Munoz was filled with spirited
exchanges and excellent use of chopping hooks and uppercuts in close by the
Irish kid from Framingham.
At the end of 8, all 3 judges scored
it 79-73 in favor of O'Connor who improved
to 21-1 (7) while Munoz fell to 21-11-1 (14)
In the second bout of the night, Luis Rosa Jr. of New Haven, CT battled Jose Angel Pepe Beranza of Mexico City, Mexico,
through 8 tougher than expected rounds.
A veteran of more than sixty fights, Beranza started
slow but wound up being a good test for Rosa, as he absorbed his power and blunted
his offense with an awkward looking but effective overhand right that kept Rosa
from staying in close too long. Both guys dug for body shots through the middle
rounds and Rosa lost a point for repeatedly striking the Mexican below the belt. But it
wasn’t enough to help Beranza on the official cards, which were all the same,
79-72 in favor of Rosa after 8.
Luis Rosa Jr. improved
to 14-0 (6) while Beranza drops to 36-27-2 (28),
Dusty Hernandez Harrison of Washington,
DC, defeated
Ben Ankrah, of Ghana via Chicago, Illinois,
by six round unanimous decision in the night’s opening bout. Harrison,
one hundred forty-six pounds, used straight punches and lateral movement to outpoint
the wide-swinging, pressuring Ankrah, also 146lbs.
At the end of six entertaining rounds that showcased the classic, boxer vs. puncher clash of styles,
the ringside officials tabbed
Harrison the winner by scores of 60-54 x 2 and 59-55.
With the victory Dusty Hernadez Harrison improved to 14-0 (7) and Ben dropped
to 15-15 (4).
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