Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream and TV Info
Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux will do battle at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday in an intriguing middleweight unification fight.
Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) is the longtime holder of the WBA belt and is also the IBO and interim WBC champion.
He could add the IBF strap to his collection if he finds a way to get past the Canadian Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs).
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The bout is the main event on a pay-per-view card that also sees Roman Gonzalez defend his WBC flyweight crown against Brian Viloria, as well as a heavyweight clash between Luis Ortiz and Matias Ariel Vidondo.
When: Saturday, October 17, 9 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Sunday BST)
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York
TV: HBO Pay-Per-View (US), BoxNation (UK)
Live stream: BoxNation (UK)
Next in Line
Golovkin is seen as the heir apparent to the retired Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
The 33-year-old has built a fearsome reputation as a knockout artist during his professional career—he is yet to even hear the bell for the final round, with his three wins on points all coming in eight-rounders.
Still, his coronation cannot happen until he has added Lemieux's name to his list of victims.
He is certainly not taking his next opponent lightly, per Sky Sports.
"This is the biggest test for me," Golovkin said. "He's the IBF champ. It's a big situation, unification. Right now it's a very interesting situation to be in the middleweight division. I think we have three or four fighters and it's very important who is No. 1."
Golovkin needs a test, too.
His fights have been predictable of late. It's not been a matter of if he wins but when.
In 2014 he needed less than 12 rounds to see off Osumanu Adama, Daniel Geale and Marco Antonio Rubio.
This year he has had to work a little harder, with Englishman Martin Murray becoming the first rival to take the 2004 Olympic silver medalist beyond the 10th round.
Willie Monroe made it as far as the sixth before Golovkin put him out of his misery in May—it was his 14th successful defence of the WBA strap.
Now, though, GGG gets to pit himself against someone who has the potential to meet fire with fire.
Lemieux has an impressive number of knockouts on his CV, and the threat he poses could bring out the best in the man from Kazakhstan.
Heart of a Lion
Lemieux has talked the talk in the buildup to the bout in New York.
The Canadian understands the size of the task at hand but is confident he can cause an upset, per Boxing News 24:
"I am going to be a lion in there. Nothing is going to be in my way. It is kind of like David and Goliath.
Everyone is impressed on this big GGG, he is impressive and talented but there is also David who is making a lot of noise.
I know what I am going up against and I am going in with a nice package to deliver to Golovkin.
"
Lemieux's self-belief stems from a nine-fight winning streak. The last of those victories saw him defeat Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam on points to claim the vacant IBF strap.
Back-to-back defeats against Rubio, a fighter Golovkin brushed aside in just four minutes and 19 seconds, and Joachim Alcine in 2011 left the 26-year-old in danger of burning out after a bright start.
However, he has rebuilt his reputation and now gets the chance to burst the Golovkin bubble.
Lemieux's power—he has a career knockout ratio of 86 percent—has undoubtedly helped sell tickets more than the belts that are up for grabs.
As journalist Steve Bunce wrote in the Independent, "He [Lemieux] has finished 27 of his 31 quick fights inside three rounds, which is slightly better than Golovkin’s record of 17 fights ending in three rounds or less."
Golovkin, though, is not going to fold quickly under pressure. His defensive abilities are overshadowed by his power and precision on offence.
His trainer, Abel Sanchez, told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, "I think it's important to point out that on the HBO CompuBox system, Gennady is the third-best defensive fighter with 10 or more fights."
Lemieux is going to need the heart of the lion to pull off an upset, with Odds Shark pricing him as a 10-1 underdog.
Prediction
Golovkin gets the chance to make a real statement in the Big Apple.
GGG needs to show he is the next big superstar for the sport by dealing with Lemieux, which would pave the way for a potential clash with the winner of the upcoming bout between Miguel Cotto and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
Lemieux will be brave and lively for the opening three or four rounds, but he isn't going to have enough to slow down Golovkin, who will win by stoppage between Rounds 6 and 8.
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