Gennady Golovkin stopped Marco Antonio Rubio in the second round, defending his WBA middleweight title with his 18th consecutive stoppage victory. Golovkin (31-0, 28 KOs) punctuated his brief West Coast debut with a crushing left hand to the forehead. Rubio tumbled to the canvas and couldn't get his wits together in time, the fight ending 1:19 into the second round. 'I liked the fight,' Golovkin said. 'Rubio, he does not step back. He is a good fighter. I respect him. It was a very hard punch.' Gennady Golovkin (right) of Kazakhstan is pushed to a corner with Marco Antonio Rubio on the deck
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Gennady Golovkin beats Marco Antonio Rubio 1:19 into the second round
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Golovkin defended his WBA middleweight title with 18th straight stoppage
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Golovkin: 'He tried to hurt me, but my power was too much for him'
@placeholder briefly complained that the knockout punch was illegal, although television replays clearly contradicted him.