By Edward Chaykovsky

WBA/IBO middleweight Gennady Golovkin (31-0, 28KOs) stopped Marco Antonio Rubio (59-7-1) in two quick rounds at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Rubio was hit with a left hand to the forehead and went down for the full count in the second.

Rubio said Golovkin was a hard puncher, but said there were fighters who hit him harder. Rubio has been in the ring with sluggers like Kelly Pavlik and David Lemieux.

Then Rubio complained that he beat the count and blamed the referee, Jack Reiss, for stopping the contest early.

"Gennady is a great champion," Rubio said. "He hit me hard, but it's not the hardest I've been hit. I came to fight, to put on a good show. I got up, but the referee decided to stop it."