Golovkin escapes with a narrow win against Derevyanchenko
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 06 Oct 2019
New York - Gennady Golovkin struggled to reclaim his former title against a very determined Sergiy Derevyanchenko in an exciting twelve round middleweight battle at a packed Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOS) had to walk through fire to eke out a close Unanimous Decision win over Derevyanchenko who gave him the fight of his life.
Aided by an early knockdown, scores were narrow but were in favor of Golovkin at 114-113 and 115-112 twice - who once again is a champion at 160 pounds. He takes the now vacant International Boxing Federation middleweight belt that he lost by a close Majority Decision to Saul Alvarez last September in Las Vegas.
The title was stripped from Alvarez this summer by the boxing body after the Mexican superstar failed to fight Derevyanchenko- who was the IBF?s mandatory challenger.
Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KOS) who hails from Ukraine but now fights out of nearby Brooklyn, came not only to survive the notoriety of his opponent?s knockout power but came to fight against his much-favored counterpart
He was not deterred by the knockdown in the 1st round and a cut in his right eye in the 2nd. He brought the action to Golovkin in the succeeding rounds by effective volume punching and an aggressive attack against a befuddled former champ.
He made Golovkin retreat in the 3rd and 4th with left and right combos that found its mark. A hard body shot from him clearly hurt Golovkin in the 5th round. He continued his high work rate in the middle rounds, pressing the action in the middle of the ring and getting out of Golovkin?s reach when his back is in the ropes.
Golovkin did not like the constant pressure from Derevyanchenko. He was beaten to the punch and was a recipient of many shots in the head, especially uppercuts from his foe.
The Kazakh monster was not the monster he once was above that ring in his previous skirmishes at the famed arena. He was clearly slower, less productive and he missed a lot of his shots.
The 37 year old former champion became a counterpuncher to a mobile foe who out-punched and out-hustled him.
Golovkin?s power was still there though. He almost floored Derevyanchenko again in the 10th with his strong right hand in the final moments of the round. He worsened the cut he inflicted on Derevyanchenko by marking it all night and his opponent?s eyes were almost shut after their bruising battle.
After the scores were read and Golovkin was declared the champion, loud boos emanate from the crowd who clearly did not agree with the decision. It was something that the Kazakh champion was not accustomed to.
Maybe it was his persistent opponent or maybe it was the results of the many battles he had in the ring or maybe it was Father Time that we saw in Golovkin?s Big Drama Show Saturday night at The Garden.
But it is something that is new to his fans who filled the arena and it is certainly something new to the Kazakh monster himself.
After all, even monsters grow old.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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