Photo by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
The boxing world anxiously awaits what could possibly be the best matchup of 2015, when middleweight kingpin Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) puts his IBO, interim WBC and WBA titles on the line, in a unification bout against IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) live on HBO pay-per-view, October 17, 2015, from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Golovkin has become a destructive force in the division, winning 20 consecutive bouts by way of knockout, and owns the record for highest knockout ratio in middleweight championship history.
This current reign of dominance includes wins over Gabriel Rosado, Martin Murray, Matthew Macklin, Marco Antonio Rubio, Daniel Geale and Curtis Stevens.
A pair of back-to-back losses in 2011 sparked questions about Lemieux’s potential of becoming a top middleweight contender, however, he responded to the criticism by knocking out his next eight opponents, and earning a shot at a world title.
Lemieux’s most recent contest was on June 20, 2015, when he squared off against Hassan N’Dam for the vacant IBF World middleweight title. The Montreal native captured the IBF crown by dropping N’Dam four times with his violent left hook, which paved the way to a unanimous-decision victory.
There will be no shortage of firepower on October 17 when Golovkin and Lemieux battle for middleweight supremacy. Will Golovkin march through another opponent and keep his consecutive knockout streak intact, or can Lemieux drop the curtain on the big drama show and catapult to the top of the middleweight division?
Continue reading as we take a closer look at the upcoming unification bout between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux.
Fight Info
Photo by USA TODAY
Main Event: Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux, 12 round unification match for Golovkin’s IBO, WBC, WBA titles and Lemieux’s IBF title
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City
When: October 17, 2015
TV: HBO pay-per-view
The Fighters
| Gennady Golovkin | David Lemieux | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 33-0, 30 KOs | 34-2, 31 KOs |
| Age | 33 | 26 |
| Height | 5′ 10½″ | 5′ 9½″ |
| Weight | 159 lbs. (Last Fight) | 160 lbs. (Last Fight) |
| Reach | 70” | 70” |
| Stance | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Hometown | Karaganda, Kazakhstan | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Rounds | 146 | 120 |
| Rounds Boxed | TKO 6 Willie Monroe Jr. (05/16/2015) | UD Hassan N’Dam (06/20/2015) |
What You Need to Know
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Upon the completion of an impressive amateur career that consisted of 345 wins and only 5 losses, Golovkin signed with Universum Pro-Box Promotions and debuted as a professional in May of 2006. After 14 professional bouts, Golovkin cut ties with Universum Pro-Box Promotions in January 2010, and signed with K2 Promotions. Shortly thereafter, he began training in Big Bear, California with veteran trainer Abel Sanchez.
Golovkin made his HBO and American debut on September 1, 2012, when he faced Grzegorz Proksa. Proksa, who had never been knocked down or out, was dropped three times en route to a fifth-round stoppage.
This performance gave audiences a mere glimpse of the skill and power that Golovkin would soon display inside the squared circle.
He has since gone on to dominate the next 10 opponents building a reputation as a heavy-handed assassin who steps into the ring and doesn’t allow those paired against him to hear the final bell sound.
Golovkin has been actively pursuing some of the sport’s biggest attractions such as Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez and even Floyd Mayweather Jr., none of which have expressed any desire to accept the challenge. Should he defeat Lemieux, Golovkin will be in line to face the Cotto vs. Canelo winner, and continue his quest to unify all of the middleweight titles.
Lemieux’s amateur career is a bit perplexing, owing to conflicting fight totals cited by separate interviews with the Montreal native. Showing little interest in making a bid to join Canada’s team for the Beijing Olympics, Lemieux instead focused all attention on starting his professional career. He sought to begin fighting as a professional at 17, but Canadian Boxing Federation rules would require him to wait another year.
Lemieux made his pro debut on April 14, 2007, knocking out his opponent in two rounds, and would fight four more times within the next eight months. The next four years were met with great results as Lemieux won 24 of 25 matches by way of knockout. Things changed when the hard-hitting slugger met the aforementioned Marco Antonio Rubio on April 8, 2011.
A great start turned into a bad finish, as Rubio weathered Lemieux’s bombardment of power punches in the early going, and turned things around in the seventh, when he planted Lemieux and scored an upset technical-knockout victory over the Montreal native. The loss to Rubio was followed up with a unanimous-decision loss to veteran Joachim Alcine.
From there, Lemieux fought mid-to-lower-level competition before his victory over a fearless Rosado on December 6, 2014.
The win over Rosado caught the eye of Oscar De La Hoya, who earlier this year added Lemieux to his stable of fighters under the Golden Boy Promotions banner. While some fighters have chosen to avoid Golovkin, Lemieux–who knows the reward outweighs the risk–seemed eager to step up to the plate and accept the challenge.
Boxing Ability
Gennady Golovkin
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Gennady Golovkin drubs opponents with both sound technical skills and devastating power. Former opponents can also testify that Golovkin throws a sharp, accurate jab that feels more like a power punch.
He can stand in the middle of the ring and exchange, or back a challenger into the ropes and unload damaging combinations to both the head and body.
Basically, Golovkin will accommodate to every opponent and deliver the appropriate beat down.
David Lemieux likes to headhunt, so look for Golovkin to work inside and back him up with stiff jabs and counter punches.
David Lemiuex
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David Lemieux’s brawling, swing-for-the-fence style is a clear indication that he has no desire to outbox opponents. He doesn’t throw or land many jabs, but instead relies on a dynamite left hook as his key to victory.
While this style has been the driving force behind many of Lemieux’s victories, it backfired when he lost via technical knockout to Marco Antonio Rubio in 2011.
If Lemieux tries to press the action in hopes of landing one of his signature haymakers, Gennady Golovkin may have the opportunity to extend his consecutive knockout streak.
Advantage
Golovkin is definitely the more well rounded boxer and has a variety of weapons that could cause serious problems for Lemieux.
Power
Gennady Golovkin
Photo by Naoki Fukada
Winning 30 of his 33 fights by way of knockout, and riding a current streak of 20 consecutive wins by knockout, leaves no question as to the power that Gennady Golovkin possesses and the pain he can dish out.
He has concussive power in both hands, and has finished fights with both body and head shots.
Golovkin is also great at cutting off the ring, which puts him in a prime position to inflict serious damage on his opponent.
David Lemieux
Photo by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
David Lemieux doesn’t care to out box anyone, and is intent on forcing an early stoppage every time he steps into the ring. Those intentions are quite clear, as 31 of his 34 victories have been won by way of knockout.
Lemieux’s most recent bout proved that he can sustain a steady tempo for an entire fight, as he sent Hassan N’Dam to the canvas four times, and captured the IBF title by way of unanimous decision.
There’s no question that Lemieux will be the stiffest test to date for Gennady Golovkin, and should he find himself in the position to unload a barrage of devastating hooks, those in attendance and watching on pay-per-view may witness Golovkin get taken into unfamiliar territory.
Advantage
This one isn’t easy, because both men have solid power that can send their foes to dreamland.
However, Golovkin’s ability to end fights with a variety of different punches, and the fact that he can knock people out with the either hand, strongly suggests that he holds the power advantage over Lemieux.
Defense
Gennady Golovkin
Photo by Will Hart
Gennady Golovkin has a very solid defense and has never been knocked down, either as an amateur or as a professional.
Although he has yet to face anyone of the same caliber, at this stage in his career getting hit flush doesn’t appear to faze Golovkin. Promising fight fans a big drama show with his developing Mexican style aggression, Golovkin invites opponents to exchange and then makes them pay for it.
In recent action, Willie Monroe Jr. was knocked down twice and practically finished in the second round, but it appeared Golovkin chose to keep the fight going, which gave way to an exciting fifth round, before closing the door on Monroe Jr. in the sixth.
The uncanny ability to knockout his foes with either hand indicates that the power behind Golovkin’s fists play a supporting roll in his defense.
David Lemieux
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Because he can blast through them, David Lemieux’s defense versus middling competition is quite good. However, the two defeats he suffered in 2011, raised some serious questions in regards to his defense and strategy. Marco Antonio Rubio was able to time Lemieux’s attack with jabs and straight right combinations, and score an upset win.
Joachim Alcine neutralized Lemieux, by being the busier of the two and blocking most of his power punches, which awarded him a stunning majority-decision victory.
Lemieux will take a giant leap in competition when he goes up against Gennady Golovkin, which means he needs to fight the perfect fight if he expects to beat the middleweight wrecking machine.
Advantage
No doubt about it, Golovkin definitely has the advantage on this one.
Although neither guy has fought top-level competitors, Golovkin has faced tougher opposition than Lemieux.
Additionally, Golovkin has never been threatened or damaged by any of his opponents. Lemieux, on the other hand, has suffered defeat by technical knockout, and also by getting out worked on a separate occasion.
Game Plan
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Gennady Golovkin
Abel Sanchez recently went on record stating that Gennady Golovkin will knock David Lemieux out by the fourth round, and his prediction may indeed be accurate.
Golovkin should focus a portion of his strategy towards neutralizing Lemieux’s signature left hook. If he can successfully take away the best weapon Lemieux has to offer, this bout may not last more than a few rounds.
Aside from that, look for Golovkin to do what he’s famous for, which is stalk his prey in search for an opening to deliver an assortment of lethal power punches.
There is also the possibility that Golovkin will want to stay in the middle of the ring and invite Lemieux to stand toe-to-toe and exchange, but if this were to occur, it signals to the audience that Lemieux’s attack doesn’t pose a serious threat.
Photo by Vincent Ethier
David Lemieux
David Lemieux needs to make absolutely certain that Gennady Golovkin doesn’t back him into ropes at any point during the match, because the threat of severe punishment will drastically increase.
In order to avoid Golovkin’s power, Lemieux will have to pick and choose when to strike, and then get right back on his bicycle.
Lemieux has a devastating left hook, and Golovkin will be looking for it, so in order to find a home for it, he will need to keep moving and try to catch Golovkin off balance.
For the most part, Lemieux prefers to be the aggressor, but he has to abandon this notion in order to have a legitimate chance of beating Golovkin.
Early Prediction
Photo by Will Hart
This is going to be David Lemieux and Gennady Golovkin’s first pay-per-view fight, and with it comes all the publicity and hype.
Golovkin is dead set on capturing all of the middleweight titles, and is eager to show the boxing world what he’s capable of doing.
Lemieux doesn’t seem concerned with the details of Golovkin’s repertoire and feels confident that he has what it takes to win.
The fight itself may start out a little slow with both men feeling each other out, or there may be fireworks as soon as the opening bell sounds.
Regardless of how it starts, Lemieux is no match for Golovkin, and is going to get knocked out within six rounds.
