The Speed Bag: Macklin feels the Gs; The Rock stops rolling

Matthew Macklin suffered a third consecutive world title defeat with a brutal three round beating at the hands of Gennady Golovkin at the MGM Grand in Mashantucket.

Macklin had come into the fight with great creat credit in the bank having pushed Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez close in his two previous world title tilts, however he never looked like making an impact on the indomitable Golovkin.

The 31-year-old, undefeated in 27 fights, was in murderous mood as he landed at will on a defensive Macklin throughout the first session- opening a cut above the Irishman’s right eye in the second.

The coup de grace came in the closing seconds of the third as a newly aggressive Macklin was floored with a monstrous body shot.

The defeat- Macklin’s fifth in 34 professional fights- could prove the be the Irishman’s final attempt at landing a much-coveted world title, although the domestic interest in the division could still lead to a meeting with either Darren Barker or Martin Murray later this year.

Elsewhere, Anthony Crolla pushed himself into contention for a meeting with WBO lightweight king Ricky Burns after a hard-fought points win over former world champion Gavin Rees.

The 26-yearold started slowly- dropping the first two rounds- however used his greater size and strength to outwork the more experienced Rees through the middle rounds.

33-year-old Rees was coming off a five round defeat at the hands of Adrien Broner in February, and this loss- a third in 41 fights- could curtail his ambitions of regaining a world title.

Crolla could meet Burns before the end of the year, provided the Scotsman is able to overcome Raymundo Beltran in September.

Paul Smith Jr secured a the British super middleweight title with a six round defeat over former titlist Tony Dodson. The 30-year-old, who is one of few men to have faced both George Groves and James DeGale, had Dodson on the canvas early, before finishing the job in the sixth.