Sometimes, the absurdity of the worst business practices of boxing results in a simple cruelty in the ring. This was the case when Gennadiy Golovkin was forced to face on Friday night the obligatory competitor for the IBF title Kamil Szeremeta. After seven lifeless rounds that saw Szeremeta knocked down four times, the referee was finally forced to give up the fight, giving Golovkin the TKO victory and firmly retaining the IBF title.
Any mystery about whether Szeremeta could stand with Golovkin and make the fight competitive disappeared in the opening round. Golovkin quickly established his powerful jab, stifling Szeremeta’s attempt to throw the same punch and to no avail. Golovkin followed his shot with a right hand that opened his power shots, and a winged left hand put Szeremeta in the opening frame.
Szeremeta will go down again in round 2, this time from a right hand of Golovkin. Szeremeta managed to beat the number again, but without the power to turn the tide – Szeremeta scored just five eliminations in 21 professional fights against the lower-level opposition – Golovkin was given no reason to get off his gas .
Golovkin will score two more knockouts, in the fourth and seventh rounds, before the referee has seen enough and given up the fight, while the fighters sit in their seats between rounds. It was a merciful end for Szeremeta, whose toughness was not equal to his abilities in this outing.
“Respect for Kamil’s coach and corner,” Golovkin said of the stoppage. “They’re very smart because it’s over. Come on, boys.”
Indeed, Golovkin overtook Szeremeta from 228 to 59 in total fists landed, including a 94-10 lead in his shots. Adding to the bad news for Szeremeta in statistics, Golovkin gained 56% of his power fists through combat.
The obvious game for Golovkin would be a third fight with Canelo Alvarez after their first fight ended in a draw and the second in a narrow majority decision for Alvarez.
Alvarez fights Saturday night, taking on Callum Smith for a pair of super-middleweight titles. Golovkin was bored after the fight when asked about the potential trilogy, suggesting he is open to it but not fully engaged.
“Absolutely, I’m open to anyone,” Golovkin said. “The best opponent for me, for business, for DAZN, for people? We’ll wait until tomorrow. I hope tomorrow is a great event. Who wins? I’m open.”
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Battle book, results
- Gennadiy Golovkin def. Kamil Szeremeta TKO from the seventh round
- Hyun Mi Choi (c) def. Calista Silgado by unanimous decision (97-93, 99-91, 98-92)
- John Ryder def. Michael Guy by unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 96-94)
- Carlos Gongora def. Ali Akhmedov through the 12th round of the TKO
- Reshat Mati def. Dennis Okoth through TKO in the sixth round
GGG vs. Scorecard Szeremeta, live coverage
|
Golovkin |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
WHICH |
60 |
|||||
|
Sheremet |
8 |
8 |
9 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
51 |