In an incredible fight at Madison Square Garden, Gennadiy Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) had to dig deep to scrape past Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs) to win the IBF middleweight title. It was such a hotly contested bout and you can make a solid argument for either fighter getting the nod, but it was ultimately a unanimous decision on the scorecards.
A first-round knockdown was one of the keys to GGG’s victory, but Derevyanchenko had him hurt in the 5th and 10th rounds, particularly with his exemplary jabbing and body work. He was the faster fighter and often times looked physically stronger than the Kazakh knockout artist.