By Mark Eisner: Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) defeated Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs) by a controversial 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night on DAZN to capture the vacant IBF middleweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Golovkin booed loudly for the first time in his career
The results were not popular with the crowd, as they booed loudly after the judges’ scores were announced. The booing continued during the entire time Golovkin was interviewed.
The scores 114-113, 115-112 and 115-113 for Golovkin. Boxing News 24 scored it 4 rounds to 4 for Derevyancheko.
Derevyanchenko wants rematch
“I would like the rematch if possible. I’m ready,” said Derevyanchenko after the fight.
In round 1, Golovkin knocked Derevyanchenko down with a left hook to the top of his head.
Derevyanchenko was cut badly over his right eye in round 2 from a clash of heads. It appeared that the cut came from a punch, but the referee ruled that it was from a punch.
Golovkin hurt in round 5 with body shots from Derevyanchenko
Golovkin looked to be on the verge of being stopped in round 5 after Derevyanchenko hurt him with body shots. The referee got in the way of Derevyanchenko when he was trying to finish Golovkin with body shots.
Golovkin continued to be booed after Derevyanchenko left the ring. GGG appeared to be shaken badly by the boos from the crowd. It clearly bothered Golovkin, as he’s never had this happen to him.
The 37-year-old GGG’s poor performance tonight wasn’t so much the result of his age. It was more of a case of Derevyanchenko fighting smart by using his jab, and staying in close to throw body shots. Golovkin had no answer for the inside skills of Derevyanchenko.
Israil Madrimov defeats Alejandro Barrera
Israil Madrimov (4-0, 4 KOs) defeated journeyman Alejandro Barrera (29-6, 18 KOs) by a 5th round stoppage on on Saturday night in the co-feature bout.
In the 1st round, Madrimov knocked Barrera down with a hard left to the head.
Madrimov, 24, hurt Barrera with hard pot shots in the 5th round. The referee Benjy Esteves Jr. stopped the fight. The time of the stoppage was at 2:36 of round 5. Madrimov landed 116 of 239 shots for a 48 percent connect percentage.
#6 WBA Madrimov said after the fight that he’s ready for a world title fight. It’s unclear whether he’ll well against someone like IBF/WBA 154-lb champion Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams, WBC champ Tony Harrison or WBO champ Jaime Munguia. Those guys are arguably more polished than what we saw from Madrimov tonight.
The referee warned Madrimov several times about his shoving that he was doing. He was doing a lot of pushing off on Barrera. The referee warned Madrimov for his shoving, but he continued to do it the remainder of the contest. That’s something that Madrimov needs to change in his game, because he looked very, very amateurish the way he was fighting.
Madrimov did a lot of pushing
It wasn’t just the constant shoving that made Madrimov look bad. He was almost moving for no apparent reason, and wasting energy. He wasn’t outsmarting Barrera when he was doing a lot of the moving. It was wasted energy. Most of the time, Barrera was ready for whatever angle that Madrimov attacked him. There was no surprise. Further, a lot of the punches that Madrimov threw were wild and missed by a mile.
If Munguia vacates his World Boxing Organization junior middleweight title, that would be an opportunity for Madrimov to go after that belt. Going after the IBF, WBA or WBC titles might be too risky for Madrimov, because he would need to take on the likes of Harrison or J-Rock.
As an amateur, Madrimov suffered a lot of losses. His amateur record is 44-12. When you compare that record to guys like Vasiliy Lomachenko with his 396-1 record, you can see that Madrimov is coming into the pro game as a raw fighter.
After the fight, Madrimov did a back flip and a somersault.
Ivan Baranchyk TKOs Gabriel Bracero
Former IBF light welterweight champion Ivan Baranchyk (20-1, 13 KOs) looked powerful in stopping Gabriel Bracero (25-4-1, 6 KOs) by a 4th round knockout.
Baranchyk dropped Bracero in the 4th. The fight was then halted by Bracero’s corner. The time of the stoppage was at 1:30 of round 4.
After brawling in a wild manner in the first three rounds, Baranchyk hurt the 38-year-old Bracero with a big left hook in the 4th. In what appeared to be a move to buy time, Bracero hit on the break, and was given a stern warning by referee Arthur Mercante Jr.
Once the action resumed, Baranchyk unloaded on Bracero, causing him to fall forward and grab him around the waist in an attempt to stay on his feet. It didn’t work. Bracero went down face first, and was scored as a knockdown. After he got back up, his corner stopped the fight.
Baranchyk, 26, was coming off of a disappointing 12 round unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Josh Taylor last May in the World Boxing Super Series 140-lb tournament.
It’s going to be difficult for Baranchyk to win another world title if he doesn’t focus more on his defense. He was just throwing shots tonight,and not considering the punches that were coming back at him. Bracero isn’t a big puncher, but there are a lot of guys at 140 that would have given Baranchyk problems if he fights them the way he did Bracero. Regis Prograis would eat up Baranchyk with his wide open style.
Ali Akhmedov beats Andrew Hernandez
Unbeaten super middleweight prospect Ali Akhmedov (16-0, 12 KOs) scored a fast 1st round knockout win over journeyman Andrew Hernandez (20-8-2, 9 KOs).
The official time of the stoppage was at 0:44 of round 1.
The 24-year-old Akhmedov landed a big right hand to the temple of Hernandez that sent him down. He was too hurt to get back to his feet, and the fight was stopped by referee Eddie Claudio.
With the win, Akhmedov is expected to crack the top 15 at super middleweight. It’s going to be interesting to see how Akhmedov does in the future when he starts fighting better opposition. With the power that Akhmedov has, he could be a real problem for the top fighters at 168.
Akhmedov vs. David Benavidez would be a fun fight. Benavidez, 22, is actually two years younger than Akhmedov. It’s hard to believe that Benavidez is so far advanced for a fighter only 22. It’s still too early for Akhmedov to mix it up with a guy like Benavidez.
Kamil Szeremeta KOs Oscar Cortes
Unbeaten middleweight contender Kamil Szeremeta (21-0, 5 KOs) destroyed an over-matched Oscar Cortes (27-5, 14 KOs) by a 2nd round knockout on Saturday night.
Cortes, 26, was knocked down twice by Szeremeta. The fight was halted by referee : Benjy Esteves Jr. at 0:45 of round 2.
Kamil Szeremeta ended the fight with beautiful combination
Szeremeta, 29, dropped Cortes with a four-punch combination in the 2nd round. The badly hurt Cortes rolled around on the canvas before attempting to get back to his feet. He then fell back down. At that point, the referee helped Cortes back to his corner, and the fight was stopped by the ringside doctor.
In round 1, Szeremeta caught Cortes with a hard left hook to the head that knocked him down. Cortes never saw the shot coming, and he hit the deck hard.
Nikita Ababiy stops Isiah Seldon
Undefeated super middleweight prospect Nikita Ababiy (7-0, 6 KOs) looked sensational in stopping Isiah Seldon (13-3-1, 4 KOs) by a 1st round knockout.
Brian Ceballo defeats Ramal Amanov
Unbeaten welterweight prospect Brian Ceballo (11-0, 6 KOs) put on a clinic tonight in throwing blistering combinations to stop previously unbeaten Ramal Amanov (16-1, 5 KOs) by a third round technical knockout.
The ringside doctor advised that the fight be halted due to an injured cheekbone. The official time of the stoppage was at 1:20 o round 3.
All in all, it was a good performance by Ceballo. He landed some big shots, and was hitting Amanov at will. The only negative that you can say about Ceballo’s showing tonight was the way he was leaving himself open for Amanov’s counters. Ceballo had no respect for Amanov’s power, and he was trying hard to get him out of there.
💥 TKO for @BrianCeballo!
🇵🇷 The Puerto Rican native moves to 11-0 (6 KOs), stopping Amanov in the third 👊 #CeballoAmanov pic.twitter.com/YyJtmeiJFR
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) October 6, 2019
In the future, Ceballo will need to improve his defense when begins facing bigger punchers. He won’t be able to get away with just throwing punches and leaving himself open. Anyone can tee off a punching bag, but it’s a different story when you’ve got an opponent with some pop in their punches.
Ceballo will need to show defense if he’s to go anywhere in boxing. The good news is Ceballo is still young at 25, and he’s got plenty of time to keep improving. But he’s got to treat the early portion of his professional career like it’s his amateur. He didn’t have a long amateur career like some fighters.
Marco Delgado stops Joseph Ward
Talented Irish amateur star Joseph Ward (0-1) suffered a leg injury in the 2nd round and was stopped by Marco Delgado (6-1, 5 KO) in his pro debut.
Ward, 25, dominated the 1st and 2nd rounds until his left knee buckled underneath him in 2, and he was unable to continue. Ward’s left knee was dislocated. It appeared that the ringside doctor was able to get Ward’s knee back in the socket, but it was too late to continue.
The southpaw Ward looked impressive in shooting out accurate left hands and nice jabs. He looked like he was on his way to a knockout when his left knee gave out on him.
Ward had hoped to be back in the ring in two weeks for his next fight, but this injury may delay that. He’s going to need to have his knee looked at, and hopefully he won’t require surgery on it.
You’ve got to give Delgado credit for hanging in there, and taking a lot of solid shots. Delgado was no pushover by any means. He was firing back punches the entire two rounds, and not backing down.
Tonight’s the night. See you soon. @TheGarden @DAZN_USA pic.twitter.com/2JcR9dBlFZ
— Gennadiy Golovkin (@GGGBoxing) October 5, 2019
