In what could possibly be a candidate for Fight of the Year, boxing’s pound-for-pound superstar attraction Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) and Sergiy “The Technician” Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs) slugged it out for 12 dramatic rounds filled with heart and grit that saw Derevyanchenko hit the canvas in Round 1 and suffer a brutal cut over his right eye in Round 2, but battle back to balance out the scorecards with impressive power shots to the body. Ultimately, Golovkin out-jabbed and out-punched the Ukrainian warrior to narrowly walk away with his 40th professional victory via a unanimous decision to extend his world champion streak.
In the main features, WBA Inter-Continental Super Welterweight Titlist Israil Madrimov (4-0, 4 KOs) remained undefeated after a stoppage over Alejando Barrera (29-6, 18 KOs) and WBA Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Titlist Ivan Baranchyk (20-1, 13 KOs) unleashed his power on Gabriel Bracero (23-4-1, 6 KOs) that culminated in the ref calling the fight. Earlier in the evening, WBC Silver International Super Middleweight Titlist Ali Akhmedov (16-0, 12 KOs) stopped Andrew Hernandez (20-8-2, 9 KOs) in Round 1 to remain undefeated, Marco Delgado (6-1, 5 KOs) won by TKO after Joe Ward (0-1) suffered a self-injury in a light heavyweight bout, and super middleweight Brooklyn brawler Nikita Ababiy (7-0, 6, KOs) did quick work to knock out Isiah Seldon (13-3-1, 4 KOs) in the first round.
Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin
“I want to say thank you so much to my opponent. This was a great job. I respect his team. I told you, he’s a very tough guy. This is huge experience for me. Right now, I understand I need more. Focus is boxing. This was a tough fight. I need a little bit more. I need to still get stronger in my camp. Just more serious. I need to work hard. I need a little bit more focus.
“Right now it’s bad day for me, it’s a huge day for Sergiy, his team. This is huge experience for me. Right now I know what I need exactly. I lost a little bit of focus. Sergiy was ready, I really respect him. He showed me such a big heart. I told him, Sergiy, this is best fight for me. It’s a huge experience. It’s maximum destroy. I just respect his team.”
Would he agree to a rematch? “Absolutely. Big fight for DAZN, for the people, of course I’m ready. I’m a boxer, I’m ready for anything.”
Does he still want Canelo? “Absolutely, I’m just open to anybody. There are so many great champions here. Sergiy, a lot of guys.”
“Everything is ready, just call Canelo. If he says yes, let’s do it.”
Sergiy Derevyanchenko
“I feel great. Thank you so much to all my fans, everybody who came to MSG. Thank you to my team. I want to thank everybody,. It was a great night of boxing.”
How did the cut he endured Round 2 affect the rest of the fight? “The cut really changed the fight. I couldn’t see at times. And he was targeting the eye. But no excuses, it is what it is, I was trying my best.”
“When I started moving, I felt like I was giving him room and I was getting hit with those shots that he threw and that’s why I started taking the fight to him and getting closer and not giving him room to maneuver.”
“He hit me in the back of the head. He hit me behind the ear. I didn’t really see the punch but it didn’t really affect me that much. I got up and I wasn’t really hurt so I continued to fight, so it was nothing, nothing too bad.”
Rematch? “I would like the rematch if it’s possible, I’m ready.”
Israil Madrimov:
“First of all, I want to thank Gennadiy Golovkin, Big Drama Show, I’m super excited to be a part of it. I want to wish him good luck tonight in his upcoming fight. I came here to support him, I’m going to follow Gennadiy Golovkin’s past, I’m going to bring the same excitement to the ring.”
“I knew exactly who I’m fighting, I knew the guy was very tough, and I expected to stop him in the 5thor 6th round. I knew I was going to take some punches to get him tired, and that’s exactly what happened, when I felt there was no power, I knew I could take him out.”
“First two rounds, the guy was really reckless, really awkward, so it took a couple rounds to find the rhythm because usually I’m the awkward guy, but this time, the guy created a little trouble with the way he punches. But after two rounds, we were good.”
Did he want to get a KO earlier than Errol Spence did against Barrera? “Of course, I know that Spence stopped him and they’re going to compare who stopped him earlier, but he had three months of training camp, so he was prepared as never before. Obviously, I wanted to stop him, it didn’t matter to me when it happened, but he was a tough guy to take out.”
“I came to the sport to be a sensation in this sport, so let’s make a sensation with promoters. Whoever takes the fight, I’m ready to fight any champions at 154 in my next fight.”
“This win is for all for you guys who support me, please give me your attention – I won’t disappoint you, every fight will be exciting, I promise you.”
Ivan Baranchyk
“I’ll be back. The beast is back. This is my message for everybody.”
On coming back and winning: “It’s very important for me. I have good opponent. And I’ll be back.”
“I didn’t really care about it that much, I’ve fought opponents that were dirtier than Bracero so I was prepared for that.”
Ali Akhmedov
“I’m glad the way the fight came out. We had a very good camp in anticipation of this fight and I’m really happy with the outcome.”
“My promoter does a very good job trying to find opponents for me. I’m ready for anyone. I’m ready for any fighter. But it will be up to my promoter to decide who is going to be next.”
168 or 175? “I feel very comfortable at 168 and I would like to be the champion of this weight division, but later on, I might look at other options.”
GGG predictions for tonight? “It will be excellent, it will be a real gift to all boxing fans, I’m sure it will be amazing.”
“I’d like to use opportunity to thank all my fans, especially my fans from Kazakhstan. I receive a lot of calls, a lot of texts, and I’m really thankful for all of them.”
12-Round IBF Middleweight Title Bout @ 160 lbs.
Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko
Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) defeated Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision
(114-113, 115-112 X2)
10-Round WBA Inter-Continental Super Welterweight Title Bout @ 154 lbs.
Israil Madrimov vs. Alejando Barrera
Israil Madrimov (4-0, 4 KOs) defeated Alejando Barrera (29-6, 18 KOs) by TKO at 2:36 of Round 5
10-Round WBA Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Title Bout @ 140 lbs.
Ivan Baranchyk vs. Gabriel Bracero
Ivan Baranchyk (20-1, 13 KOs) defeated Gabriel Bracero (23-4-1, 6 KOs) by TKO at 1:30 of Round 4
12-Round WBC Silver International Super Middleweight Title Bout @ 168 lbs.
Ali Akhmedov vs. Andrew Hernandez
Ali Akhmedov (16-0, 12 KOs) defeated Andrew Hernandez (20-8-2, 9 KOs) by TKO at ) 0:44 of Round 1
8-Round Catch Weight Bout @ 149 lbs.
Brian Ceballo vs. Ramal Amanov
Brian Ceballo (11-0, 6 KOs) defeated Ramal Amanov (16-1, 5 KOs) by TKO at 1:20 of Round 3
8-Round Middleweight Bout @ 160 lbs.
Kamil Szeremeta vs. Oscar Cortes
Kamil Szeremeta (21-0, 5 KOs) defeated Oscar Cortes (27-5, 14 KOs) by TKO at 0:45 of Round 2
6-Round Light Heavyweight Bout @ 175 lbs.
Joe Ward vs. Marco Delgado
Marco Delgado (6-1, 5 KOs) defeated Joe Ward (0-1) by TKO due to self-injury at 1:00 of Round 2
6-Round Catch Weight Bout @ 162 lbs.
Nikita Ababiy vs. Isiah Seldon
Nikita Ababiy (7-0, 6, KOs) defeated Isiah Seldon (13-3-1, 4 KOs) by KO at 1:45 of Round 1
Promoted by GGG Promotions and Matchroom Boxing USA in association with DiBella Entertainment, remaining tickets to the latest action-packed episode of the Big Drama Show may be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008), and online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.msg.com.
