Gennady Golovkin has stopped Daniel Geale inside three rounds to retain his WBA middleweight title.
There had been the expectation that Australian Geale would provide Golovkin with the toughest contest his career, but the former IBF champion was blown away at Madison Square Garden in New York.
After taking the opener, Golovkin connected with a right to the ear that sent Geale to the canvas, and although the challenger got to his feet, he took more severe punishment before the bell.
The third round followed a similar trend, with Golovkin continuing to land at will against Geale before flooring him with another hard right to force the referee to bring a halt to the fight.
Golovkin has now won his last 17 encounters by stoppage, with his overall professional record being extended to 30 successive victories.
In losing to the Kazakh boxer, Geale suffered his third defeat in 33 outings.
Darren Plant
