Gennadiy Golovkin Beats Kamil Szeremeta Via Dominant 7th-Round Stoppage

Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) looked sharp in a triumphant return to the ring Friday at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, recording four knockdowns against an overmatched Kamil Szeremeta (21-1, 5 KOs) before the referee stopped the match ahead of the eighth round.

The fight was Golovkin's first since October 2019. The 38-year-old IBF world middleweight champion is looking to extend his relevance, with a potential fight against Canelo Alvarez or a top name at middleweight. The Szeremeta bout was a nice exhibition of his skill set and appeal, although a younger version of Golovkin might have closed out the affair much sooner.

ESPN's Steve Kim liked what he saw from Golovkin but wondered how much of that was due to his opponent:

After the bout, Golovkin was asked about his future, and he simply said he's "looking for the best opponent for me," per the DAZN broadcast.

Golovkin was in complete control right from the start, scoring a knockdown in the last seconds of the first round with a looping left hook. DAZN Boxing has a look at the big punch:

Szeremeta, the mandatory challenger for Golovkin, got up quickly from that blow and went immediately back to fighting in front of Triple G.  His aggression would not pay off, as Golovkin scored another knockdown late in the second round with an overhand right that detonated on Szeremeta's ear. 

DAZN Boxing has the highlight:

Boxing writer David Greisman didn't like what he was seeing from Szeremeta:

The Polish challenger was able to land punches, but Golovkin hardly seemed to notice them for the most part. When he wasn't absorbing the blows, the Kazakhstani champion was ducking punches with great head movement and returning fire with crisp, hard punches to the body. 

The third knockdown came in the fourth round, with Golovkin apologizing for a low blow and then immediately clobbering his opponent with a deftly executed string of power punches.

DAZN's Andreas Hale felt the body work was paying dividends:

A fourth knockdown came in the seventh round, this time with a couple of jabs straight down the middle. Szeremeta certainly had the heart and toughness, just not the ability to keep up with his opponent. 

Golovkin's night at the office finally ended when the referee decided to call off the fight ahead of the eighth round. He never had to get away from the measured pace he set at the outset of the bout, and it was a solid, workmanlike performance overall.

Golovkin did more than enough Friday to earn a big fight in 2021. A trilogy fight against Alvarez, who is responsible for the lone loss and draw on his record, would be a coup, but Alvarez has expressed a desire to stay at super middleweight. If Golovkin hangs around at 160 pounds, he could look for a title unification bout against the likes of Demetrius Andrade (WBO champion) or Jermall Charlo (WBC champion).