Gennady Golovkin demolishes Dominic Wade, Roman Gonzalez cruises on HBO

IBF mandatory middleweight challenger Dominic Wade had the opportunity of a lifetime last night (Sat., April 23, 2016), taking on media darling and destroyer of worlds Gennady Golovkin in the main event of an HBO doubleheader inside The Forum in Los Angeles, California.

There's a difference between having an opportunity and following through on it, unfortunately.

Golovkin (35-0, 32 KO) destroyed Wade (18-1, 12 KO), dropping him three times in two rounds en route to his twenty-second consecutive knockout. Golovkin came out with his customary seek-and-destroy style, walking through Wade's punches to deliver crippling blows to the head and body. An overhand right late in the first scored the first knockdown, while a left uppercut one round later put Wade down a second time.

A straight right, the classic cross counter over the jab, sent the American down a final time in the waning seconds of the second round. He simply could not beat the count.

Golovkin's current targets include "Canelo" Alvarez, who is set to face Amir Khan in the coming weeks, and Billy Joe Saunders, who owns one of the few remaining middleweight belts and who has already turned down a fight with "GGG." No matter who he fights, however, it's hard to imagine the Golovkin train stopping anytime soon.

Co-star and WBC Flyweight Champion Roman Gonzalez's ten-fight knockout streak came to an end, but he was nonetheless impressive in dismantling challenger McWilliams Arroyo over twelve rounds. Both men came out with similar strategies, targeting the body and looking to land hooks and uppercuts upstairs. Gonzalez (45-0, 38 KO) was just better at it, constantly landing a brutal body hook and right hand upstairs that left Arroyo (16-3, 14 KO) reeling.

Arroyo, a legitimate power-puncher, landed his fair share of heavy blows, but never even managed to rattle Gonzalez, whose combinations were as potent as ever. The Nicaraguan simply landed more, landed harder, and never stopped advancing. Gonzalez threw nearly a hundred punches per round and almost all of them were terribly powerful.

Gonzalez took home the decision on two scores of 119-109, matching MMAmania's score, and one 120-108. It will be fascinating to see where Gonzalez goes from here, whether he continues his reign at 112 pounds or moves up to 115, where the likes of Carlos Cuadras and Arroyo's brother, McJoe, are waiting.

For quick results and round-by-round coverage of the doubleheader, click here.