In front of a sold-out crowd of 16,353 at the Fabulous Forum, on Saturday night, Boxing Superstar and Unified Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, 35-0, (32KO’s) defended his titles (WBA, IBF, IBO and WBC “Interim”) with a devastating second round knockout of Mandatory Challenger Dominic Wade, 18-1-0 (12KO’s).
The knockout was GGG’s 22nd in a row in addition to his 16th straight world title defense. His 91.4% knockout ratio is the highest in middleweight division history.
In the action packed co-feature, Consensus #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, 45-0 (38KO’s), defended his WBC Flyweight Championship against world ranked challenger McWilliams Arroyo, 16-3 (14KO’s). with a brilliant performance towards a 12-round unanimous decision (119-109, 119-109, 120-108.)
Both bouts were televised Live on HBO World Championship Boxing®.
Making his now familiar arena length ring walk, Golovkin headed to battle accompanied by deafening cheers in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, California. Honoring the return of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams to Southern California while wearing their colors into the ring, Golovkin wasted no time testing the mettle of Wade.
Drilling Wade with a battering overhand right, Golovkin sent the challenger to the canvas late in the first round. Using a sensational left uppercut, right hand combination, the newly minted JORDAN Brand athlete sent Wade to the canvas once more in the second. Following the Largo, Maryland’s rise from the canvas, Golovkin finished him with another battering right hand dropping the Largo, Maryland resident for the third time causing referee Jack Reiss to halt the carnage at the 2:37 mark of the second stanza.
Said Golovkin following the victory, “This is a big present for my fans. I’m here now and I’m here to stay, I’m not going anywhere.”
About a potential Canelo fight, Golovkin stated “Give me my belt, I’m ready to fight.”
Fighting for the second time at The Fabulous Forum where his mentor, Nicaraguan countryman Alexis Arguello had a wealth of success, Gonzalez performed brilliantly utilizing multiple punch combinations with precision placement to counter the aggressive and game Arroyo throughout the fight.
Gonzalez hurt Arroyo badly in the third with a blistering right hand to the jaw and continued to punish Arroyo in the following round. Although valiant to the end and successful for short periods in the second half of the fight, the 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian Arroyo was overwhelmed by Gonzalez’s punch output and pinpoint precision, both traits “Chocolatito” has used to build his remarkable international resume.
Stated Gonzalez about the dominant decision win, “My conditioning was terrific. Training in Costa Rica made the difference for me. This shows that I can win either by knockout or by going the distance.”
Highlighting the off-TV undercard, top lightweight prospect Ryan “Blue Chip” Martin made his highly successful Los Angeles debut improving to 14-0 (9KO’s) with a fifth round knockout of Rosbel Montoya, 16-8-1 (13KO’s).
Martin dropped Montoya in the second round with a huge right hand and again with a left hook to the body in the fourth. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. called a halt to the beating in the fifth round (1:51) as Montoya was taking too much punishment from the heavy handed Martin.
Also on the undercard, Paramount, California native, Pedro Duran improved to 14-0 (11KO’s) with a fourth round knockout of Pedro Lopez, 6-3-1 (2KO’s) of Mexico.
Two action packed women’s bouts were also featured as junior flyweight Kenia Enriquez moved to 16-1 (7KO’s) with a fifth round knockout of Amaris Quintana, 9-3-2 (1KO), scoring two knockdowns enroute.
Fighting out of East Los Angeles, Seniesa “SuperBad” Estrada, 6-0-0 (1KO), dominated Selene Lopez, 3-5-3 (1KO), over six rounds in their flyweight clash earning the victory by scores of 60-54 on all three scorecards.
Golovkin vs. Wade was promoted by K2 Promotions, GGG Promotions and in association with TGB Promotions. Gonzalez vs. McWilliams was presented by K2 Promotions in association with Teiken Promotions and PR Best Boxing Promotions.
