By: Sean Crose
The main card at Madison Square Garden began on Saturday with an 8 round super welterweight bout between the 8-0 Brian Ceballo and the 14-0-1 Bakhtiyar Eyubov. The first round was an exciting one, with both men swinging and landing effectively. Ceballo had a great second round, moving, sharp shooting and looking like the more skilled of the two. The third saw Ceballo giving a master class while Eyubov came forward like a bull. By the fourth, Eyubov was able to land a bit, but it may not have been enough to take the round.
Ceballo continued to pick away at his man in the fifth. The fight continued to be a clinic in the sixth. By the seventh it was clear the match was all but over. Ceballo cruised through the final round, got the UD win, and made himself a name to watch.
New Orleans’ Marcus McDaniel, 15-0, was up next as he faced the 14-0 Ali Akhmedov in a scheduled ten round super middleweight affair. Akhmedov came on strong in the first. The Kazakh fighter continued to be effectively aggressive in the second. A brutal assault of punches put McDaniel down in the third. McDaniel got up, but the fact that he wasn’t responding clearly caused the referee to stop the fight.
It was time for the main event. An energized looking 38-1-1 Gennady Golovkin stepped into the ring to face the 19-0 Steve Rolls in a scheduled 12 round bout at a catchweight of 164 lbs. Golovkin landed well in the first. The second round was very close. Golovkin landed well – but so did Rolls. The third was also close, though Golovkin landed more frequently. Rolls was holding his own in the fourth, but Golovkin’s combos started taking their toll. Then, with a missle-like left, Golovkin put Rolls smack on his face. The game Rolls tried to get back to his feet, but couldn’t beat the count.
After the bout, Golovkin made it clear that he was eager to face arch rival Canelo Alvarez for a third time. With both fighters operating out of the DAZN tent, a third go round in the controversial Canelo-GGG saga may well be likely.
