On Saturday, October 17, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, in a fight televised live on HBO PPV, WBA Super World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs), the undefeated knockout artist from Los Angeles, California, by way of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, fights IBF World middleweight champion David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs), from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in a rare but welcome unification bout.
HBO has pulled out all the stops, as only HBO can, in advance of the fight and their Road to Golovkin/Lemieux (see below), narrated by Liev Schreiber, whets the appetite for what will be a war while it lasts.
After a stellar amateur career, Golovkin turned pro in 2006 with a first round knockout of Gabor Balogh in Düsseldorf, Germany. He had five more fights that year, all of which ended early. He had three fights in 2007, five fights in 2008, four fights in 2009, and two fights in 2010. That year Triple G won the interim WBA World middleweight title with a KO in 58 seconds of Milton Nunez (21-1-1 at the time), and followed that up four months later with a third round knockout of Nilson Julio Tapia to win the WBA World middleweight title.
Going into next week’s fight with David Lemieux, Golovkin has held the WBA title for almost five years while adding the IBO and interim WBC World middleweight titles to his collection of championship belts.
“This fight has it all,” said Golovkin. “Pay-per-view, a title unification, and a great opponent. Like Bernard Hopkins (representing Golden Boy Promotions and David Lemieux) said, this is an amazing time. I promise an amazing show. October 17 is the next part of the story. Everybody tune in.”
Lemieux is a good fighter, maybe even a great fighter, but Golovkin appears to be in a class of his own.
“If there is any body up to the challenge to beat Golovkin, it’s me,” said Lemieux. “I don’t just believe that I can win on October 17. I know what it takes to win. I know how to win. I know how to do this because of my experience. I know my abilities and I know myself inside and outside the ring. I’m here because of my great determination. Golovkin has not faced a fighter like me before.
“I’ve come a long way and I’m proud to fight the Goliath of the middleweight division. Gennady Golovkin is a good champion. He has good values. But in the ring you’re not friends. It will be a lion against another lion.”
This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.
