Golovkin in brutal KO

NEW YORK (AFP) – Former unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin turned back the clock on Saturday night with a sensational fourthround knockout of Steve Rolls in their super middleweight fight at Madison Square Garden.

The 37-year-old Kazakhstan fighter hit Rolls with a short left that sent the Canadian crumbling face first to the canvas with one minute to go in the fourth in front of a crowd of 12,357.

“I feel great, I feel like a new baby,’’ said Golovkin.

Golovkin, who was fighting for the first time in nine months and coming off the first loss of his career, chose to fight the heavy underdog Rolls as he jockeys for a third fight against champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

Golovkin sized Rolls up by winning a close first round. In the second, Rolls (10-1) hit him with a left hook and a left jab that snapped Golovkin’s head back.

But Golovkin started to see cracks in Rolls’ defence in the third round. He stayed patient – even holding off and not throwing punches despite getting Rolls in a vulnerable position. Golovkin’s the type of boxer who can put those moments away in his muscle memory bank for use later in the fight.

And that’s just what he did to finish off the Canadian in the fourth, first landing a chopping left hand to the top of the head that hurt Rolls. The wobbly-kneed Rolls staggered backwards and then tried unsuccessfully to get Golovkin in a clinch.

Golovkin worked his way out of it and then slammed a short left from a southpaw stance into the face of Rolls for the knockout.

Kazakhstan’s Gennady Golovkin, left, exchanges punches with Canada’s Steve Rolls during the second round of their super middleweight match Saturday in New York. Golovkin used the first three rounds to set up Rolls for the kill in the fourth, stopping his opponent and angling for a third fight against champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. (AP)