Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY)

Local sports schedule

- By Dan Greenspan

TODAY MHAL BASEBALL Highland at New Paltz, 4:15 p.m. Millbrook at Rhinebeck, 4:15 p.m. Onteora at Spackenkil­l, 4:15 p.m. Dover at Ellenville, 4 p.m. MHAL SOFTBALL Marlboro at Roosevelt, 4:15 p.m. Millbrook at Rhinebeck, 4:15 p.m. Red Hook at Rondout, 4:15 p.m. Dover at Ellenville, 4 p.m. MHAL BOYS TENNIS Rhinebeck at Wallkill, 4:15 p.m. Spackenkil­l at Onteora, 4:15 p.m. Coleman Catholic at Marlboro, 4:15 p.m. Pine Plains at Millbrook, 4:15 p.m. New Paltz at Ellenville, 4:15 p.m. OCIAA BASEBALL Monroe-Woodbury at Kingston, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA SOFTBALL Newburgh at Kingston, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA BOYS GOLF Minisink Valley at Kingston, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA GIRLS GOLF Marlboro at Rondout, 4 p.m. New Paltz at Onteora, 4 p.m. Highland at Dover, 4 p.m. Ellenville at Roscoe, 4 p.m. Middletown at Kingston, 4 p.m. OCIAA BOYS LACROSSE Goshen at Saugerties, 4 p.m. Rhinebeck at Burke Catholic, 4 p.m. Kingston at Middletown, 4:30 p.m. Rondout at Ne Paltz, 4:30 p.m. Red Hook at Highland, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA GIRLS LACROSSE Saugerties at Goshen, 4 p.m. Roosevelt at Washington­ville, 4 p.m. Millbrook at Kingston, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA BOYS TENNIS Newburgh at Kingston, 4 p.m. NON-LEAGUE BASEBALL Lourdes at Malboro, 4:30 p.m. Pine Plains at Saugerties, 6 p.m. Rondout at Middletown, 7 p.m. NON-LEAGUE SOFTBALL Pine Bush at Wallkill, 4:15 p.m. COLLEGIATE GOLF Mid-Hudson Conference match at Nassau, 1 p.m. TUESDAY MHAL BASEBALL Ellenville at Millbrook, 4:15 p.m. Marlboro at Red Hook, 4:15 p.m. Pine Plains at Rhinebeck, 4:15 p.m. MHAL SOFTBALL Ellenville at Millbrook, 4:15 p.m. Highland at Onteora, 4:15 p.m. MHAL BOYS TENNIS Rhinebeck at Onteora, 4:15 p.m. Saugerties at Millbrook, 4:15 p.m. Pine Plains at Spackenkil­l, 4:15 p.m. New Paltz at Rondout, 4:15 p.m. Wallkill at Highland, 4:15 p.m. Red Hook at Marlboro, 4:15 p.m. Roosevelt at Coleman Catholic, 4:15 p.m. MHAL TRACK & FIELD Rondout at Onteora, 4:15 p.m. Red Hook at Saugerties, 4:15 p.m. Wallkill at New Paltz, 4:15 p.m. Dover at Highland, 4:15 p.m. Coleman Catholic at Millbrook, 4:15 p.m. OCIAA BASEBALL Kingston at Monroe-Woodbury, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA BOYS GOLF Kingston at Valley Central, 3 p.m. OCIAA GIRLS GOLF Highland at New Paltz, 3 p.m. Dover at Marlboro, 3 p.m. Newburgh at Kingston, 4 p.m. OCIAA BOYS LACROSSE Roosevelt at Rhinebeck, 4 p.m. OCIAA GIRLS LACROSSE Roosevelt at Valley Central, 6 p.m. OCIAA BOYS TENNIS Kingston at Burke, 4 p.m. OCIAA TRACK & FIELD Kingston at Newburgh, 4 p.m. NON-LEAGUE BASEBALL Roosevelt at Spackenkil­l, 4:15 p.m. Wallkill at Highland, 4:15 p.m. NON-LEAGUE SOFTBALL Taconic Hills at Pine Plains, 3:45 p.m. Marlboro at Warwick, 4:15 p.m. Highland at Onteora, 4:15 p.m. WEDNESDAY MEN’S SOCCER US Open Cup First Round: Kingston Stockade FC at Long Island Rough Riders, 8 p.m.

Gennady Golovkin said his secondroun­d knockout of Vanes Martirosya­n wasn’t intended to send a message to Canelo Alvarez.

Instead, it was the lastminute replacemen­t for Alvarez who verbally tagged the Mexican superstar on Cinco de Mayo.

“I see why he’s eating that kind of meat. I see why he’s trying to get that extra edge,” said Martirosya­n, referencin­g Alvarez’s failed drug test in March.

Golovkin won his 20th consecutiv­e middleweig­ht title defense by sending Martirosya­n down at 1:53 of the second round on Saturday night.

Showing he has not lost any of his devastatin­g power after his previous two fights ended in decisions, Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) tied Bernard Hopkins’ record for middleweig­ht title defenses with staggering fury.

After being tagged with a strong three-punch combinatio­n from Martirosya­n (36-4-1) late in the first round, Golovkin responded with a devastatin­g charge in the second. He started the eight-punch onslaught with a short left and pounced on the damaged Martirosya­n, finally dropping him with two powerful lefts.

Martirosya­n compared the sequence to being hit by a truck immediatel­y after the fight, then likened Golovkin’s punches to being hit by a train in the press conference.

“Every punch was the same power and that surprised me,” Martirosya­n said. “Thirty-six years old, and he’s still fighting like that. He is the real deal.”

The fight came together in hectic fashion after Golovkin’s rematch with Alavarez fell apart. Golovkin and Alvarez fought to a draw last September and were set to meet again in Las Vegas on the Mexican holiday before Alvarez was suspended for six months by the Nevada Athletic Commission in April after testing positive for clenbutero­l.

Alvarez has blamed the positive test on tainted Mexican beef, which led to Martirosya­n’s quip.

With the lucrative fight against Alvarez scuttled until this fall at the earliest, Golovkin was eventually able to put together a replacemen­t bout in Southern California, where he built up a strong following with a series of title defenses at StubHub Center and the Forum. Despite short notice and a modest card, Golovkin drew a crowd of 7,837 and the biggest gate receipts for boxing at StubHub Center.

Golovkin made it worth their while, making an extended entrance by parading around the converted tennis court to the riff from the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”

The card also featured the first women’s fight on HBO in the cable network’s 45-year history of broadcasti­ng boxing, as undisputed welterweig­ht champion Cecilia Braekhus (330) remained undefeated with a unanimous decision over Kali Reis (13-7-1).

Braekhus won 97-92, 9693 and 96-93 on the three scorecards despite being knocked down to one knee by a hard right from Reis in the seventh round. Reis nearly dropped Braekhus again in the eighth with another hard right, and the crowd booed when the result was announced after Reis’ late charge.

UFC featherwei­ght champion Cris Cyborg was in attendance and confirmed her interest in boxing against Braekhus, adding to a night where it was hard not to focus on the specter of fights that could have been and could still happen.

Focus on a rematch with Alvarez returned to the forefront immediatel­y after Golovkin leveled Martirosya­n.

Golovkin said after the fight he would take on all comers, including Alvarez. His attitude did not change in the subsequent press conference.

“Everybody want second fight, second step. Of course, I want to,” Golovkin said. “It’s very important for me and boxing people, for everything. Just I’m ready. Let’s do it. September.”

Besides his joke, Martirosya­n had a prediction for how a second GolovkinAl­varez fight might play out, especially if Alvarez feels the pressure to meet the demanding standards of Mexican boxing fans and go toe-to-toe with Golovkin after being responsibl­e for the fight being scuttled in May.

“I think if Canelo stayed in front of Gennady, he would get knocked out cold,” Martirosya­n said.

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