Golovkin scores his 20th consecutive KO in the sixth

     Gennady Golovkin defeated challenger Willie Monroe Jr. by technical knockout in the sixth round to register his 20th consecutive knockout victory to defend his WBA, IBO and WBC  middleweight titles.

     It would not be a competitive fight, and Golovkin did at times hold himself back allowing fans to see if Monroe would be a threat to the undefeated champion's 14th title defense.

     Golovkin knocked Monroe down twice in the second round -- both times with powerful left hooks -- and set the tone early after an opening round spent mostly on developing a feel for the pace Monroe potentially was expecting.

     After a third round where Monroe bounced back, he followed it up with a productive fourth by outworking the Kazakhstan native by a good enough margin to have scored that round.

     Monroe reverted to his previous strategy (more defense and movement instead of volume punching) in the fifth round and a Golovkin who decided to slow down his production did not take advantage until the sixth round when Monroe was knocked down once again -- but this time by a combination of punches.

     According to CompuBox numbers, Golovkin landed 133 of his 297 punches (116 for power at 49 percent). Monroe, on the other hand, could only manage to land 29 percent of his 305 total punches and 33 percent of his power punch attempts.

     In the post-fight interview with HBO's Max Kellerman, Golovkin thanked his fans with a "present just for you," and some news for those who may have though Monroe was actually controlling the fight for a short stretch of the bout.

     "I show him who's number one, who's champion," said Golovkin.

     Kellerman then asked about the immediate future for champion's plan to attract big-name fighters, and Golovkin was not shy in sharing who the fighters in his crosshairs are.

     "I'm a real champion," said Golovkin, "I want unification (referring to Miguel Cotto)."

     Golovkin also did not rule out Saul "Canelo" Alvarez as a potential opponent in the very near future, but he did make it clear that he wants either Cotto and/or Alvarez before a bout with Andre Ward.

Photo credit: Joe Camporeale / USA Today Sports

All information was gathered from outside media outlets: HBO's World Championship Boxing