Gennady Golovkin claims IBF middleweight title with points win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko
GGG secures his second straight win after defeating Canada’s Steve Rolls back in June.
Gennady Golovkin regained one of his old middleweight titles, edging Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a unanimous decision to take the IBF championship Saturday night.
Golovkin knocked down Derevyanchenko in the first round, opened a cut near his right eye in the second, and then held on from there in a fight where the long-time middleweight ruler absorbed plenty of the type of punishing shots he used to deliver.
But he did just enough to win 115-112 on two cards and 114-113 on the other, claiming the belt that was vacated by Canelo Alvarez, who handed Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) his only loss.
Derevyanchenko (13-2) fell just short in his second attempt to win the middleweight title, having lost by split decision to Danny Jacobs last year, also at Madison Square Garden.
The 37-year-old Kazakhstani is still targeting a return to the top table of the middleweight division following his contentious loss to Canelo Alvarez in September last year.
GGG secured his second straight win after defeating Canada’s Steve Rolls back in June.