Gennady Golovkin scored his 18th straight knockout on Saturday night with a second-round stoppage of Marco Antonio Rubio in Carson, CA. Golovkin (31-0, 28 KO’s) met almost no resistance from the veteran fighter who didn’t appear to want to be in the ring with the rising superstar.
Rubio (59-7-1, 51 KO’s) failed to make the 160 pound weight limit on Friday, then made no attempt to lose the extra 1.8 pounds in the two hours he was given. It was a telling sign as to how ready Rubio was to fight one of the sport’s great knockout punchers.
An uppercut in the second round changed the look on Rubio’s face and Golovkin swarmed the challenger, going for the finish. Moments later, a left hand put Rubio down and he timed the count to where he just barely, maybe, staggered to his feet as it hit 10. Rubio was instantly well enough to throw his arms up in protest, then, just moments later, was laughing and hugging everyone in the ring.
The joke was on the viewers and ticket buyers.
Golovkin is a force at middleweight and he carries a knockout percentage of 90.23, a stunning number after 31 fights. But he wasn’t tested on Saturday night. His opponent wasn’t there to try to win a fight.
