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While the boxing world eagerly awaits the official announcement for Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez, a possible unification fight between Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) and David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) is in talks, according to ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael.
After his 12-round unanimous decision win over Hassan N’ Dam to earn the IBF crown, Lemieux looked to be facing his as-yet-unamed IBF mandatory challenger.
However, Oscar De La Hoya recently told ESPN.com that his team is “exploring options” for Lemieux and that they are in talks with Golovkin’s promoter, Tom Loeffler.
Camille Estephan of Eye of the Tiger Management, who co-promotes Lemieux along with De La Hoya, is very confident about Lemieux’s ability to hurt Golovkin, which, due to the seeming unwillingness of others in the division to face Golovkin, definitely makes the fight a possibility.
“We would not go in there if we didn’t believe that David could hurt Golovkin,” said Estephan.
“We can literally say that David is in the hurt business. Believe me, we think David will hurt Golovkin. Golovkin is certainly a great fighter, but without wanting to divulge our strategy we feel very good about our chances,” continues Estephan, before admitting that because Lemieux is only 26, time is on their side and that they are in no rush.
Oddly enough, his use of Lemieux’s first name suggests a challenge of Biblical proportions, recalling the old tale of a young King David against that behemoth Golovkin–err, I mean Goliath.
Nevertheless, the search for a high-level opponent for Golovkin will continue, though the recent news gives boxing fans something to hope for.
Something tells me–because Golden Boy Promotions isn’t in the best position to serve up one of its most promising fighters to the 33-year-old Golovkin, though Lemieux could be very competitive–that we’ll have to wait until next year.
Do you think the fight will happen this fall? Or will we have to wait until after Canelo-Cotto, where perhaps a new lineal Middleweight champion will be crowned?
