Video: GGG scores four knockdowns, wins by TKO

Gennadiy Golovkin prevailed in his return to the boxing ring. See how it all unfolded.

If you craved some classic “GGG” violence in your life, then the Kazakh powerhouse delivered it down in Florida.

IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) returned from a 14-month layoff and defended his title with ridiculous ease against the ridiculously overmatched mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta (21-1, 5 KOs). Golovkin scored four knockdowns over the course of this one-sided affair. Szeremeta’s corner wasn’t bothered to stop the fight for some reason, so the referee took matters into his own hands at the end of the seventh round.

Golovkin floored Szeremeta with a left hook just as the opening round ended. In round two he put him down again with a right hand temple shot that prompted a delayed reaction. Szeremeta was never out on his feet but he was certainly out of any reasonable competitiveness. His lack of punching power meant that Golovkin walked through any punches that the Polish fighter landed, and GGG was economical with his energy usage and just methodically picked his man apart with a steady dose of jabs, body shots, hooks to the head, and uppercuts with both hands.

The third knockdown occurred in round four off of a right hand in close quarters, followed by a couple of lefts as Szeremeta tried to hold on. In the seventh round, GGG put him on the deck with a jab. Szeremeta survived to see the end of the round but unless you wanted to see how many more knockdowns Golovkin could get in the remaining five rounds, the stoppage was necessary.

Official result: Gennadiy Golovkin def. Kamil Szeremeta by TKO (referee stoppage) at 3:00 of round 7

The 38-year-old looked quite vulnerable if not shopworn when we last saw him eke out a decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko, but against a considerable step down in competition we saw some vintage GGG while at the same time acknowledging he’s not in his prime. It’ll be interesting to see what happens to Golovkin’s career in 2021, as there are intriguing fights for him at 160 lbs that don’t even involve a trilogy with Canelo Alvarez.

Watch the highlights below, courtesy of DAZN: