Photo by Ismael Gallardo/RBRBoxing
Saturday, October 17, 2015, Madison Square Garden plays host to an eventful night of boxing, featuring two pound-for-pound action fighters in separate bouts.
In the co-main event, newly christened pound-for-pound king, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez takes on former world champion, Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria in what looks to be an exciting Flyweight scrap.
In the main event, Gennady Golovkin puts his undefeated record, KO streak and fearsome reputation on the line against Canadian bad ass, David Lemieux.
Golovkin vs. Lemieux is presented by K2 Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions in association with GGG Promotions and Eye of the Tiger Management and will air live on
The event will take place Saturday, October 17 from Madison Square Garden and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Doors will open at 7:00 p.m. ET and the first fight begins at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Read on for Round By Round Boxing’s staff predictions for each bout and let us know who you think will win.
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Roman Gonzalez
vs.
Brian Viloria
Photo by Will Hart/HBO
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
The newly-crowned pound-for-pound king, Roman Gonzalez, takes on hard-hitting Brian Viloria.
This fight is a smaller version of the main event, where both can bang, but one guy is more nuanced than the other. Viloria will still be making fun fights when he’s in a nursing home somewhere, dropping some poor sap for stealing his strawberry pudding.
Still, like everybody else who fights “Chocolatito,” he’s in over his head here. Gonzalez by KO.
Prediction: Gonzalez
Ardy Ajoste, Graphic Designer
Prediction: Gonzalez
Brandon Glass, Staff Writer
“Chocolatito” is back against the “Hawaiian Punch” and it’s going to be a banger for however long or short the fight lasts. A guaranteed fan friendly matchup here.
As much as I like Brian Viloria, Roman Gonzalez is on a nine-fight KO streak and though Viloria (on a three fight KO streak of his own) poses a real threat to Gonzalez’s reign at Flyweight, Gonzalez is in his peak.
You don’t get to be No.1 pound for pound by happenstance. Gonzalez is the best in the world right now and while Viloria will do his best to make this difficult, the accuracy with which Gonzalez punches in close quarters is deadly.
Prediction: Gonzalez
Brent Herrin, Staff Writer
WBC Flyweight champion Ramon “Chocolatito” (43-0, 37 KOs) will square off against Brian Viloria (36-4, 22 KOs) Saturday night on the Golovkin vs Lemieux undercard.
This is going to be another opportunity for Gonzalez to show audiences why he sits atop the pound-for-pound mountain.
Viloria may perhaps make the bout interesting in the early going, but will ultimately fulfill his roll as the sacrificial lamb somewhere around the fifth or sixth round.
Prediction: Gonzalez
Ismael Gallardo, Photographer
Prediction: Gonzalez
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
It’s pretty impressive that this fight card is featuring two outstanding fights with pound-for-pound fighters in their prime. In both fights, the B side certainly has a shot for however long it lasts.
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, who seemingly came out of nowhere to grab the top spot on many mythical pound-for-pound lists after Floyd Mayweather retired, gets his second opportunity in front of US fans against the always tough and heavy-hitting former champion, Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria.
Chocolatito’s first go round on HBO was a two-round shellacking of Edgar Sosa, and there is no better way to introduce yourself to casual fight fans then with a knockout. Viloria is tough, but at 34 years of age I just don’t think he’ll be able to bang with Gonzalez for more than a few rounds.
It’ll be fun to watch, but Gonzalez will break down the former champ to score a mid-rounds knockout.
Prediction: Gonzalez
Gennady Golovkin
vs.
David Lemieux
Photo by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
Gennady Golovkin has been dying for a big fight, and he finally got one with David Lemieux stepping to the plate.
Lemieux, like Golovkin, is a monster puncher, but he doesn’t quite have the boxing skills that the Kazakh monster possesses. Most people think that will prove to be the difference, which is why Triple G is such a heavy favorite.
I don’t really care who the prohibitive favorite is, I just want to see blood rain down from the rafters. Enough blood to wash the stench away from the last big PPV fight, which was Floyd Mayweather vs. Andre Berto.
I am still kicking myself in the balls for ordering that pile of shit. This will be much, much better. I’m thinking Lemieux hangs in there for awhile before wearing down late. Golovkin by late stoppage.
Prediction: Golovkin
Ardy Ajoste, Graphic Designer
Prediction: Golovkin
Brandon Glass, Staff Writer
We already know what happens when Gennady Golovkin hits people. Life spans are shortened. His dance partners come to the realization that they are indeed human and that shit really hurts. What we don’t know is how Golovkin will respond if, or when he is hit by punching power that rivals his own.
David Lemieux’s strategy for the application of that power shot is the tricky part.
Golovkin is the favorite for obvious reasons – he is the better fighter and most accomplished of the two – but Lemieux has real potential to test Golovkin’s chin, where other heavy handed opponents like Curtis Stevens and Marco Antonio Rubio failed.
Also, Golovkin is one of the best measure’s of range inside the ring today. It’s partly what makes him so good. He rarely is out of striking distance from his opponents and uses ring generalship and their fear of getting hit to walk them into traps.
There’s a chance for Lemieux to land that power left hook, if he can utilize footwork to get inside on Golovkin, open him up with combinations, and jam a hard left hook in there. I believe Lemieux has the faster hands of the two. Golovkin usually keeps a certain distance until he knows he has his opponent hurt.
Rarely will you see him fight in a phone booth or trade; maybe because of his opponents’ fear of getting blasted with a big shot or worse. Also I think it’s because he gets full leverage on his punches and he can sit down on them. Getting close to Golovkin can really change the fight for Lemieux, so that would be his chance to upset the applecart.
Unfortunately, I doubt Golovkin allows that to happen based on his biggest advantage: body punching. Also Lemieux has been dropped cold by the aforementioned Rubio, so we know one well-placed shot could end it quickly. Golovkin wears Lemieux down by the fourth and knocks him out.
Prediction: Golovkin
Brent Herrin, Staff Writer
Fight fans are ready to witness Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) and David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) battle for middleweight supremacy in their highly anticipated unification bout this Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, live on HBO Pay-Per-View.
This match just isn’t going to last very long, as Golovkin will probably turn Lemieux’s lights off before the seventh round. Lemieux likes to throw his left hook a lot, and if I had to guess, he’s going to get countered throwing that left and wake up shortly thereafter.
I’ll go out on a limb here and predict that Lemieux gets toppled sometime durning the third round.
Prediction: Golovkin
Ismael Gallardo, Photographer
Prediction: Golovkin
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Big. Drama. Show. This fight will absolutely NOT go the distance–someone is getting knocked out. I think David Lemieux’s best chance is to test Gennady Golovkin early and see what happens. If he lands one of those big, wild left hooks, Lemieux could score a major upset.
But, once Golovkin gets into a groove and correctly measures Lemieux, it’s lights out time. I believe that will happen around Round 4 or 5 and it’s going to a well-placed counter that sends Lemieux packing. Saturday can’t come fast enough!
Prediction: Golovkin
