Golovkin stops Fuchigami in three, retains WBA middleweight belt

Middleweight standout Gennady Golovkin remained undefeated with an easy third-round stoppage of outgunned and outclassed Makoto Fuchigami in Brovari, Ukraine on Saturday.

Golovkin (23-0. 20 knockouts), a 30-year-old boxer-puncher who earned an Olympic silver medal for his native Kazakhstan at the 2004 Games, dropped Fuchigami in the second and third rounds before his follow-up assualt forced referee Jose Martinez to halt the bout at 1:43 of the third.

Fuchigami (19-7, 10 KOs), a 28-year-old southpaw from Japan, was never in the fight. Fuchigami, who had won nine in a row but has never fought outside of Japan, had no defense or answer for Golovkin's steady pressure, stiff jabs and accurate right crosses.

Golovkin doubled up a short right cross, delivered from an angle in close, to score the first knockdown in the second round. A series of hard jabs and crossess dumped Fuchigami into a corner in the third round. The fight could have, and probably should have, been stopped at that point.

Golovkin, THE RING's No. 8-rated middleweight, defended his "regular" WBA title for the third time with the victory.

Photo / K2 Ukraine