Photo credit should read VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images
Watch some prime GGG content.
I really screwed up by not having Gennady Golovkin featured in a Sunday Punch video much sooner, but it’s better late than never.
In March of 2013 at the Salle des Étoiles in Monaco, “GGG” took on Japan’s Nobuhiro Ishida. At the time, Golovkin had the WBA’s secondary middleweight title, whereas Ishida was on a two-fight losing streak after dropping decisions to Paul Williams and Dmitry Pirog. The claim to fame for Ishida was his shocking first-round KO of James Kirkland in 2011, paving the way for bigger matchups.
Still, Ishida had never been knocked out and he’d already sprung a surprise before. This was a fight with some intrigue for hardcore boxing fans.
Poor Ishida never knew what hit him.
In round three, Golovkin sized up Ishida and crushed him with a right hand that almost knocked him out of the ring completely. I really don’t need to explain it any other way. He was GONE. Watch the video at the top of the page.
Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) is supposed to defend his IBF middleweight title against heavy underdog Kamil Szeremeta in the fall, but the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic really dictates the schedule here. Ishida retired in 2015 with a record of 27-11-2 (11 KOs), with Golovkin remaining the lone man to KO him.