Former middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin got back to winning ways with a fourth-round knockout of Steve Rolls at Madison Square Garden.
The Kazakh fighter, 37, suffered the only defeat of his career to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in September.
And he announced his return to the ring by sending Canadian Rolls to the floor in emphatic style.
“I feel great, I feel like a new baby,” said Golovkin, who now hopes to fight Mexico’s Canelo for a third time.
Last weekend saw British world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua lose his belts to unfancied challenger Andy Ruiz Jr. That fight was heavily referenced by the Golovkin camp in the build-up to Saturday’s super-middleweight contest, with Rolls similarly being a huge underdog.
After edging a tight first round, Golovkin sized up his opponent before ending the contest with a minute of the fourth remaining.
“It is my style to knock people out,” he said.
“I told my coach, ‘OK I see it now, I see, I just need a little bit of time’.”
After a controversial drawn superfight against Canelo in 2017 was followed by that narrow points defeat last year, Golovkin now wants to take the Mexican’s IBF, WBC and WBA middleweight titles.
“Everybody knows. I am ready for Canelo. Just bring him, ask him. If you want a big drama show, tell him,” he said.
Golovkin, who was fighting under new trainer Johnathon Banks for the first time, now has a record of 39 wins, one draw and one defeat.
Elsewhere, Mexico’s Oscar Rafael Valdez successfully defended his WBO world featherweight crown with a unanimous decision victory over Jason Sanchez of the US at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Nevada.
