CARSON, CA — Gennady Golovkin returned to his crushing knockout ways with a second-round stoppage over Vanes Martirosyan tonight at the Stub Hub Center.
Martirosyan, who hadn’t fought in two years and was moving up to middleweight, displayed a sharp jab and managed to briefly stun Golovkin with a right-left combination to close the first. The champion heeded his trainer Abel Sanchez’s instructions to “settle down” and “go to work,” leading to a fast start to the second that saw Martirosyan’s knees buckled with a counter right uppercut. Martirosyan briefly took a knee, but the reaction has delayed enough that the referee opted to not rule it a knockdown.
The end would come moments later when a Golovkin overhand right drove Martirosyan to the ropes. Golovkin unleashed a series of power shots punctuated by a left hook that put Martirosyan out before he hit the canvas.
A thunderous combination from @GGGBoxing ends @VanesBoxing‘s night in Round 2. #GGGVanes #AndStill pic.twitter.com/99bXQ7CZgb
— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) May 6, 2018
After stating earlier this week that the Canelo rematch has a “15% chance” of happening, Golovking backtracked and affirmed he wants the fight for September. He also acknowledged the growing crop of younger challengers in the division, telling Max Kellerman he welcomes fights with the likes of Demetrius Andrade, Jermall Charlo and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
“I want them all, it doesn’t matter who I face,” he said.
The win is Golovkin’s 20th successful middleweight title defense and equals the record set by Bernard Hopkins.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 