Gennadiy Golovkin: 'It’s bad day for me ... huge day for Sergiy'

NEW YORK – At some point, it happens to every fighter. The reflexes slow down, the head becomes easier to hit, and the body, once as hard as lead, suddenly turns into brittle sheetrock.

And so it was for Gennadiy Golovkin on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, where he found himself staggering around the ring from a body shot late in the fifth round, courtesy of Sergiy Derevyanchenko. GGG would survive — with a small assist from referee Harvey Dock, who broke up the action when Derevyanchenko was attacking his vulnerable opponent — but his night wouldn’t get easier. The underdog would go on to mount brilliant spates of offense, throwing Golovkin off his game plan most of the fight.  And Golovkin never stopped firing back. Their blemished faces afterward were evidence of a brutal war.

In the end, the judges would score it for Golovkin 114-113, 115-112, 115-112, which didn’t sit well with a crowd that showered the ring with boos during Golvokin’s post-fight interview.

Derevyanchenko’s promoter, Lou DiBella, was livid afterward, telling anyone within hearing distance that his charge deserved the win. Still, his frustrations at the decision notwithstanding, DiBella was appreciative of the honest battle he witnessed.

“He won. I could go around this ring and ask anybody and they will tell you the same thing,” DiBella told Boxing Junkie. “It was one of the guttiest performances I’ve ever seen. It was Gatti-Ward on a higher skill level. And I know who won that fight. Golovkin didn’t deserve to win.”

Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 knockouts) credited Derevyanchenko with his remarkable effort, but noted that he did not have the best training camp.

“I want to say thank you so much to my opponent,” Golovkin said. “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. … I just respect his team.”

Early on, it appeared it might be another vintage Golovkin performance, when he scored a knockdown in the first round with an overhand right that landed on the top of Derevyanchenko’s head. To make matters worse, Golovkin landed a check left hook that appeared to open up a gruesome cut over Derevyanchenko’s right eye, although the referee ruled that a head butt caused the cut. Afterward, Derevyanchenko admitted the cut obscured his vision.

“The cut really changed the fight,” Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs) said. “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.”

Derevyanchenko also pointed out that the punch that knocked him down was behind the head, which is illegal.

“He hit me in the back of the head. He hit me behind the ear,” Derevyanchenko said. “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.”

But Derevyanchenko wouldn’t be deterred. All night, the Ukrainian used his superior speed to throw off Golvokin from his usual pace, routinely landing the right to the body. Every time Golovkin landed a thudding punch to the body, Derevyanchenko fired right back with two, three and sometimes four consecutive punches that had Golovkin backtracking. More surprisingly, the smaller Derevyanchenko outworked Golovkin on the inside, pivoting to his right as he followed up with double, triple hooks. By the middle rounds, Golovkin’s left cheek was red as a plum. Golovkin looked every bit his 37 years of age.

It was in Derevyanchenko’s game plan to consistently crowd Golovkin and make it as uncomfortable as possible for him.

“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,” Derevyanchenko said.

The fight reached its climate in a furious 10th round that saw both fighters fight for momentum, each taking as much as they were dishing out. Golovkin appeared to have the final word, when he began battering Derevyanchenko on the ropes. But — just as in the fifth round — referee Dock, thinking he heard the bell, broke up the action prematurely.

Asked afterward if he would consider a rematch, Golovkin said, “absolutely.” At the same time, he expressed his desire for a third fight with Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez.

“Absolutely, I still want Canelo. I’m just open to anybody,” Golovkin said. “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.”