Golovkin vs Geale results: GGG wastes little time, stops Geale in third round

It wasn't the prettiest or most awe-inspiring Gennady Golovkin performance to date, but even with Daniel Geale making him miss a bit more than normal, particularly with his vaunted jab, Golovkin stopped Geale in just the third round, disposing of one of the world's better middleweights with ease tonight at Madison Square Garden.

Golovkin (30-0, 27 KO) stung Geale (30-3, 16 KO) a couple times in the first round, and also cut him above the right eye, though that appeared to come due to a clash of heads. The first round also featured Geale tripping on a camera man's strap, which was hanging over the ropes a bit, and the round lasted a minute more than it should have.

Early in round two, a right hand scraped Geale, somewhat toward the back of the head, and an official knockdown was scored. It was debatable if it was a clean punch or not, but the die was cast in that round, as Golovkin aggressively cut off the ring and had Geale looking overmatched and a bit overwhelmed.

The third round was again all Golovkin, with the game and talented Geale deciding late in the frame to mix it up with his opponent. That led to a series of shot that concluded with a right hand dropping Geale, who got to his feet but indicated to referee Mike Ortega that he was done. Ortega stopped the fight at 2:47 of round three.

Is there a middleweight out there who can really challenge Gennady Golovkin right now? Will he inevitably have to go up to 168 to find a worthy opponent?