Anticipation is already building for what promises to be an explosive unification bout on October 17th, as pound-for-pound superstar Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30 KO) and David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KO) square off for the WBA and IBF middleweight straps at Madison Square Garden in New York.
For Golovkin, the fight marks another important milestone in his seemingly inexorable rise to the top of the sport, as the heavy hitting Kazakh makes his debut on HBO pay-per-view in the United States. The switch is just reward for drawing some impressive crowds and TV ratings in his adopted homeland for his last few fights, but ultimately it’s taken a dangerous foil in the form of Lemieux to excite fans and pundits enough to justify attaching a premium value to the latest installment of the big drama show.
Not since Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov went to war for twelve brutal rounds in April has a fight promised, nay guaranteed, so much excitement, as two world class knockout artists look to serve up a savage masterpiece in front of a likely capacity crowd. Golovkin’s fearsome reputation comes on the back of twenty consecutive stoppages, whilst Lemieux is no slouch either, taking out thirty-one opponents inside the distance.
Given both men are in possession of a murderous punch and career knockout ratios hovering around the ninety percent mark, power inevitably promises to be a key factor in the fight. Crucially however, this also makes their ability to take a shot just as important and in this regard, Golovkin appears to hold a clear advantage, having never hit the canvas in either the amateur or professional ranks. Although his chin hasn’t been severely tested at elite level, on the occasions he has been hit flush in recent fights, all the evidence suggests that his jaw is wrought from pure iron. Conversely, whilst not lacking in durability, Lemieux has been stopped by common opponent Marco Antonio Rubio, a man who Golovkin dismantled with frightening ease inside two rounds.
Neither fighter is renowned for blistering hand or foot speed, but both are intelligent operators, adept at closing down the ring and controlling the pace of a fight. Having power is one thing, but it is only meaningful if applied skillfully. At thirty-three and with a stellar amateur pedigree behind him, Golovkin once again appears to hold the aces in terms of ring IQ. Seven years his junior, Lemieux is slightly less polished and would seem more likely to let the occasion or his opponent’s supreme skills get to him.
So all signs point to Golovkin taking the next step towards world domination at middleweight and underlining his credentials as the most exciting fighter in world boxing, with the prospect of huge match ups against the likes of Cotto, Alvarez and Ward now tantalisingly close. The switch to pay-per-view will not only provide a yardstick of his commercial value, but should hopefully unlock the risk-reward conundrum that has made big name opponents reluctant to step in the ring with him to date.
Lemieux is undoubtedly an exciting and talented fighter who will give it his all and it should make for combustible fun while it lasts, but a stoppage victory for GGG appears a safe bet once again.
– Nick Austin / @futilityclinic
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