ggg1
Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (left) sent Dominic Wade to the canvas three times. Getty

Unified middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin not only avoided an upset on Saturday night, he thoroughly dominated Dominic Wade with a second-round knockout at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

After a slow opening two minutes, Golovkin knocked down Wade with a powerful overhand right. Golovkin followed up it up with two knockdowns in the second round coming by way of combinations that ended with overhand rights.

Referee Jack Reiss probably should have called the fight after the second knockdown, with Wade showing minimal interest in continuing. The third knockdown with 35 seconds remaining was enough to end the uncompetitive bout. Reiss counted to 10 to end it.

The Kazakhincreased his record to 35-0 with 32 by KO. Golovkin has now knocked out 22 straight opponents.

Wade entered the fight undefeated but lacked a victory against a notable opponent. The Washington, D.C., fighter barely showed much in the two rounds, and reinforced the consensus opinion that Golovkin is among the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world.

"Muchas gracias to my fans in California," said Golovkin with a smile. "Thank you very much, my friends.

"This is a big present to my fans."

According to Compubox, Golovkin landed 54 punches compared to Wade's 12. Golovkin was clearly the far more active fighter, throwing 133 punches, while Wade threw 75.

The attention now turns to top middleweight draw Canelo Alvarez, who will fight Amir Khan in May. There is a great deal of hope among boxing fans that Alvarez will step into the ring with Golovkin.

"I feel great. I'm here now, and I'm here to stay. I'm not going anywhere. Give me my belt. Give me my belt. Let's fight," Golovkin said, when asked about Alvarez.