Worldwide Results - Golovkin thrashes Tapia, Simpson takes British Title

Astana, Kazakhstan

Gennady Golovkin KO-3 Nilson Tapia -  Despite the distraction of moving this fight halfway around the world on a week's notice due to legal troubles, and needing to self-promote the fight, Golovkin took care of business swiftly in the first defense of his "regular" WBA middleweight title.  Whle Tapia isn't well known, he also isn't a creampuff opponent, having convincingly defeated Jorge Sebastian Heiland his last time out and fighting even with Austin Trout not long before then.  He hasn't been on US TV yet (not for lack of trying), and he hasn't faced anyone truly world class yet (also not for lack of trying - he broke ties with promoter Universum to get tougher bouts, which is the cause of is current predicament), but Golovkin may well be the best rising middleweight in the world.  That includes names like Dmitry Pirog, David Lemieux, Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam and Fernando Guerrero.  The WBA has ordered that Golovkin must face interim titlist N'Dam early next year, but it looks unlikely to happen.  Universum won a restraining lawsuit against Golovkin in Germany, and under EU reciprocity, no European promoter will touch him with a ten foot pole for fear of a lawsuit by Universum.  Instead, Golovkin has indicated that he'd like to "unify" with IBO titlist Peter Manfredo on U.S. television sometime early next year.  Until the lawsuit cropped up, it looked like Golovkin was on the verge of signing with Top Rank, so expect to see a lot more of the Olympic silver medalist in the future.

Belfast, Northern Ireland

John Simpson UD-12 Martin Lindsay - Veteran Scottish fighter Simpson was able to reclaim the British featherweight title by defeating the previously undefeated Lindsay on Lindsay's home turf.  Early on, this looked like it would be a dogfight, as the two traded rounds.  About half way through the fight, Simpson really started to take over, as a consistent body attack slowed down the Irishman.  Lindsay tried to rally late, but was not able to do so.  Despite having a record of 22-7, Simpson is one of the best featherweights in the UK, having held both the British and Commonwealth featherweight titles for extended periods, and having faced a who's who of British featherweights.  While he isn't world level, the win certainly rejuvinates his career, which was in a bit of question after losing his Commonwealth title to Stephen Smith in a close decision several months ago.

Paul Edwards TKO-1 Shinny Bayaar - Man, does Bayaar just have the worst of luck.  A few months ago, he clearly outboxed prospect Ashley Sexton and managed to only survive with a draw, despite schooling the kid.  Yesterday, he lost his British flyweight title to Edwards in a bout that would have been a no contest nearly anywhere else on the planet.  In the first round, Edwards and Bayaar collided in an accidental clash of heads, opening up a huge cut on Bayaar.  Due to the BBBoC's antiquated rules, the fight was ruled a TKO win for Edwards, since Bayaar couldn't continue due to the cut.  Under the unified rules, a stoppage on a cut due to an accidental headbutt before the end of the fourth round would result in a no contest, and after the fourth it would result in the fight going to the scorecards.  Even more unfortunate, the BBBoC has already approved a rule change so that their rules regarding head clashes will match the unified rules, with the change to become effective at the beginning of 2011.  So if the fight had happened in a non-British title fight, or if it had happened two weeks from now, Bayaar wouldn't have the loss on his record.  As it is, expect the BBBoC to mandate a rematch.

Tony Jeffries TKO-2 Tommy Tolan - Jeffries had been touted as a serious prospect and won a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics, but suffered a draw his last time out.  In this one, he was cut early, which spurred him to win by knockout shortly thereafter.