Gennadiy Golovkin was one of the most feared champions during the prime years of his career.
Retiring with a professional record of 42-2-1, the only blemishes on ‘GGG’s’ career came from Canelo Alvarez.
Golovkin was still scoring knockouts at 40 years old, as he showed some fantastic longevity throughout his career.
As one of the greatest middleweights of all time, Golovkin boasts wins over the likes of Kell Brook, Daniel Jacobs, and Sergiy Derevyanchenko. However, in 2013, ‘GGG’ would take on a unique challenge.
Gennadiy Golovkin faced knockout artist Curtis Stevens in 2013
Golovkin became a world champion for the first time in 2010, as earned the WBA World Middleweight title. However, after making eight defenses of the title, ‘GGG’ would be paired up with Curtis Stevens.
The two were scheduled to meet in November 2013, fighting in New York.
Stevens was considered a knockout artist and had come down from the light heavyweight division just months prior to his Golovkin bout. Holding a record of 25-3, 18 of his wins had come by way of knockout.
However, Stevens did not just offer a threat with his punching power, but he exuded extreme confidence going into the fight with a 27-0 Golovkin.
Backing himself to get the job done against the champion, Stevens came out with several big statements regarding Golovkin. This includes Stevens saying at a pre-fight press conference, “Come Saturday, I’m going to f— Gennadiy up.”
Other comments from Stevens in the build-up included calling Golovkin ‘overrated’ and a ‘hype job’, questioning the resume of the Kazakhstani fighter.
However, Stevens’s predictions would not come to fruition when they stepped into the ring.
Gennadiy Golovkin stopped Curtis Stevens in round eight
When the two finally met in the ring, Stevens was not able to hand the champion his first defeat. Instead, it was a largely one-sided performance from Golovkin.
The fight would end in round eight, with the judges scoring almost every round of the fight to ‘GGG’ before the stoppage.
Stevens would get knocked down in the 2nd round after a pinpoint left hook would leave the American looking shocked on the floor.
Although the challenger had some odd moments of success in the fight, it was largely a dominant performance by Golovkin.
At the end of the eighth round, Stevens retired on the stool, meaning Golovkin defended his WBA and IBO World Middleweight titles.