Europe held the attention of the boxing world this past weekend as world champion Arthur Abraham and Gennady Golovkin made title defenses. In Germany, Abraham defeated England’s Paul Smith decisively over 12 rounds at the O2 Arena in Germany, while Golovkin dispatched Martin Murray in the 11th round of their bout in Monaco.
Abraham won this super-middleweight match by roughly the same scores as he won the first fight with Smith back in September, however this time he left no doubt. In the first meeting, Smith put on a heroic performance that saw him fight he best fight of his career and he felt the judges had given him a raw deal. Though he came in well focused for this fight, Abraham stepped up the intensity level on his end and Smith could not answer. A body shot halfway through the fight decided things, as Smith was never the same after that. On the undercard, heavyweight David Price took out Brazil’s Irineu Costa in the sixth round.
In Monaco, middleweight Gennady Golovkin did what no man has done before, and that is stopping Martin Murray. Golovkin did not come out with all guns blazing, and Murray may have even won round two, but in the fourth round, Golovkin flashed his upside and sent Martin to the canvas for the first time in his career and then did it again in the fourth round. With the over/under at 7.5 rounds, people who bet the over may have had a sinking feeling as Murray tasted the power of Golovkin.
Murray, known for his toughness and resolve, did manage to survive and pay off on the over, but he was down again in the 10th and the referee stepped in the next round as he was getting beat up. Some felt he had earned the right to go the distance, but the truth is, there was nothing Murray could do but sit there and take it. On the undercard, heavyweight Hughie Fury won a decision over Andriy Rudenko in his first 10-round bout to extend his undefeated record to 14-0.
