The Kazakh knockout king got the job done in his comeback bout
Gennady Golovkin sent out a statement of intent by brutally knocking out Steve Rolls on Saturday night in New York.
The former unified middleweight champion made it clear that he wants a trilogy bout with Canelo Alvarez by calling out the Mexican after returning in typically dramatic fashion.
However, Rolls didn’t allow GGG to have everything his own way for as long as the fight lasted.
The unheralded Canadian underdog took note of Andy Ruiz Jr’s shock win over Anthony Joshua last week at MSG and hoped to emulate the upset at the same venue seven days later.
After a tentative opening round, Rolls began to have success against Golovkin, landing notable shots to both head and body in the second.
One particular jab, right-hand, jab sequence caught the eye as the final punch of the trio snapped the Kazakh’s head backwards, though he was not troubled for long.
While the third was another competitive round, GGG established his dominance from the beginning of the fourth and began to up the tempo as he pursued his victim.
The breakthrough came when Golovkin landed a left hook to the top of Rolls’ head, which initially affected his balance and equilibrium, before a near-identical follow-up shot sent him crashing face-first to the canvas.
Despite attempting valiantly to make it back to his feet, the referee counted Rolls out and the fight was rightly stopped.
“I feel great, I feel like a new baby,” the victor said in his post-fight interview.
“Thank you so much to everyone who supports me, I hope you enjoyed the fight.”
Talk then quickly moved to what is next for Golovkin, and he made no secret of who he is targeting.
“Everybody knows. I’m ready for September, I’m ready for Canelo. Bring him. If you want ‘Big Drama Show,’ just tell him.
“A third fight is more interesting, the next fight is amazing for us.”
