Golovkin finishes Stevens in eight, Perez defeats Abdusalamov in slugfest, Afolabi wins IBO belt against Janik

Unbeaten WBA/IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (28-0, 25 KOs) scored an eighth round TKO over Curtis Stevens (25-4, 18 KOs) on Saturday night in the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

Golovkin dropped Stevens hard at the end of round two with a huge left hook. Stevens beat the count and went defensive the next round-and-a-
half to clear his head. Stevens landed some good punches at the end of round four. But, Golovkin was back in command in round five and punished Stevens until the fight was halted at the end of round eight.

In a terrific slugfest between unbeaten heavyweights, Mike Perez (20-0, 12 KOs) won a hard fought ten round unanimous decision over Magomed Abdusalamov (18-1, 18 KOs). 

Both went at it immediately with Perez getting the better of it. Abdusalamov got back into the fight in round two and the war was on. By round six, the left side of Abdusalamov’s face was badly swollen. Perez was deducted a point for a low blow in round nine. Scores were 97-92, 95-94, 97-92.

In a bout for the vacant IBO cruiserweight world title, Ola Afolabi (20-3-4, 9 KOs) scored a twelve round majority decision over Lukasz Janik (26-2, 14 KOs). Scores were 114-114, 117-111, 115-113. Janik was cut over both eyes in a mainly dull encounter.

In a hard fought battle for the WBC Youth Welterweight Title, popular Washington DC native Dusty Harrison (18-0, 10 KOs) kept his unbeaten record intact, winning a ten round unanimous decision over New Mexico’s Josh Torres (12-3-1, 5 KOs). Scores were 100-90 and 98-92 (2x).

In a junior lightweight fight, unbeaten Joel Diaz Jr. dropped Bryne Green twice en route to a comprehensive six-round unanimous decision. Judges scores read 60-52, three times, all for Diaz (13-0, 11 KOs). Green is now 7-7-1 with three victories via stoppage.

In the opening bout, Kazakh native Isa Akbarbayev (11-0, 7 KOs) won a four round unanimous decision over tough New Yorker Brian Clookey (4-1-2, 2 KOs) in a battle of undefeated cruiserweights. Scores were 40-36 (3x).