Israil Madrimov TKO5 Alejandro Barerra ... At Madison Square Garden in New York City, junior middleweight hopeful Israil Madrimov racked up a fifth-round stoppage of Alejandro Barerra (29-6). Madrimov (listed at 4-0 but more accurately 10-1 due to pro fights in the World Series of Boxing) signalled his cruel intentions early in the fight, flooring Barerra in the opening session with a left hook. Barrera has lost three straight but had only been stopped once before and thart was by current IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence. Barrera provided stiff resistance in his 35th pro outing, but the Uzbek star Madrimov put his foot down in the fourth round and a sustained barrage of blows in the fifth staggered the Mexican to the ropes and the referee stepped into halt the contest.

 

“First of all, I want to thank Gennadiy Golovkin, the Big Drama Show, I’m super excited to be a part of it,” said Madrimov. “I came here to support him, I’m going to follow Gennadiy Golovkin’s past, I’m going to bring the same excitement to the ring.”

 

“I knew exactly who I’m fighting, I knew the guy was very tough, and I expected to stop him in the fifth or sixth round. I knew I was going to take some punches to get him tired, and that’s exactly what happened, when I felt there was no power, I knew I could take him out.

 

“In the first two rounds, the guy was really reckless, really awkward, so it took a couple rounds to find the rhythm because usually I’m the awkward guy, but this time, the guy created a little trouble with the way he punches. But after two rounds, we were good.

 

“Of course, I know that Spence stopped him and they’re going to compare who stopped him earlier, but he had three months of training camp, so he was prepared as never before. Obviously, I wanted to stop him, it didn’t matter to me when it happened, but he was a tough guy to take out.

 

“I came to the sport to be a sensation in this sport, so let’s make a sensation with promoters. Whoever takes the fight, I’m ready to fight any champions at 154 in my next fight.”

 

“This win is for all for you guys who support me, please give me your attention – I won’t disappoint you, every fight will be exciting, I promise you.” . source: matchroom press release