By Keith Idec
CARSON, California – Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan had a much easier time at StubHub Center on Friday night than he would’ve had if he had agreed to fight Gennady Golovkin here Saturday night.
The Irish middleweight contender spent the better part of three rounds beating up overmatched welterweight Berlin Abreu in the opener of an ESPN2 doubleheader. O’Sullivan stopped Abreu after the third round in a scheduled 10-rounder on the Ryan Garcia-Jayson Velez undercard.
The 33-year-old O’Sullivan, who came to the ring wearing a sombrero and a kilt, improved to 28-2 and recorded his 20th knockout.
The Dominican Republic’s Abreu (14-2, 11 KOs) lost by knockout for the second time in his seven-year pro career. Welterweight contender Sammy Vasquez (21-2, 15 KOs) stopped him the fourth round of their February 2014 fight in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
“He could punch,” O’Sullivan said, “and he caught me with a couple of good ones. I came to do my job, and that was to get the win. This win doesn’t compare to what’s waiting for me. I’m waiting for my next big stage. Who knows? You might see me on the next major Mexican holiday weekend.”
O’Sullivan referred to potentially fighting the suspended Canelo Alvarez when Alvarez is expected to return to the ring September 15. The possibility of facing Alvarez for seven figures was among the reasons O’Sullivan – who’s co-promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s company – turned down an opportunity to replace Alvarez as Golovkin’s opponent Saturday night.
The 26-year-old Abreu, who took this fight on two weeks’ notice, fought at middleweight twice in 2012. Before Friday night, his previous eight fights were contested at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds.
Abreu, who hit O’Sullivan with a couple flush punches early in the second round, was taking a beating before he spit out his mouthpiece with about 40 seconds remaining in the third round. The action resumed following a brief break and O’Sullivan continued teeing off on Abreu.
Abreu declined to leave his corner for the start of the fourth round. Fans at StubHub Center booed Abreu loudly as he left the ring and walked back to his locker room.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
