Gennady Golovkin hold the WBA middleweight title Japan's Nobuhiro Ishida was knocked out in the third round of his WBA middleweight title fight against Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan on Saturday. Ishida, 37, suffered his ninth career defeat while defending champion Golovkin, seven years the Osaka fighter's junior, celebrated his 26th win and 23rd by knockout.
The damage was done courtesy of a huge right hand in the third round of the scheduled 12 as Ishida suffered a third straight loss.
Meanwhile, in England, Tony Bellew drew with Isaac Chilemba in their WBC light-heavyweight title final eliminator.
Bellew, the 30-year-old from Liverpool, knew a win would put him in position to take on American champion Chad Dawson.
But he put in a laboured performance at the city's Echo Arena.
"I thought I won nine out of the 12 rounds and even Chilemba's trainer, Buddy McGirt, one of the most respected men in boxing, told me he thought I won," said Bellew.
"I've got a lot of time for Chilemba. He's a good fighter and a tough man but I won the fight."