Gennady Golovkin has done it again.
The WBA middleweight champion successfully defended his title on Saturday with his 18th consecutive stoppage victory over Marco Antonio Rubio.
The fight was stopped at 1:19 into the second round after Golovkin landed a brutal left hand to Rubio’s forehead.
The Kazakh fighter who trains in California, clearly had the support of the entire StubHub Center behind him. The sell-out crowd of 9,323 chanted ‘Triple G’ throughout the fight and the support didn’t go unnoticed by the champion’s trainer.
‘Those cheers were not only for the fighter, but for the person he has shown to be,’ said Abel Sanchez, Golovkin’s trainer.
From the moment the fight started, it appeared impossible for Rubio to win. Golovkin seemingly connected with every punch he threw.
‘I felt I hurt him with the left hand, and the uppercut was when he was very badly hurt,’ Golovkin said. ‘I knew I had him… I was happy he came forward. He fought Mexican style, and he tried to hurt me, but my power was too much for him tonight.’
In addition to retaining his title, Golovkin also secured Rubio’s WBC interim belt with the win. This means that the winner of the upcoming match between WBC champion Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez must either fight Golovkin or vacate the title.
