By Ian S Palmer
The most anticipated fight of the weekend takes place at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden on Saturday, October 17th when Kazakhstan’s hard-hitting and undefeated Gennady Golovkin faces David Lemieux of Canada. The 12-round bout is available on the HBO pay-per-view in the U.S. as well as on pay-per-view in Canada. However, British fans can catch the action on BoxNation. The contest is a title unification bout as it’s for Golovkin’s WBA, IBO and interim WBC Middleweight Championship and Lemieux’s IBF Title. Fans are expecting an all-out brawl here and that’s what they should eventually get.
The 33-year-old Golovkin comes into the fight with a perfect record of 33-0 with 30 big Ko’s. He stands just over 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a 70-inch reach. He turned pro back in 2006 after a fine amateur career and has fought 146 rounds since then. His stiffest competition up to now, at least on paper, has been Willie Monroe Jr., Marco Antonio Rubio, Martin Murray, Daniel Geale, Curtis Stevens, Matthew Macklin and Gabriel Rosado. Golovkin has defended his title 14 times, but he’s yet to face a truly elite opponent and while Lemieux’s a worthy champion, he’s still not regarded as one of the world’s elite boxers. Golovkin does his job no matter who he faces though and has stopped his last 20 opponents.
The 26-year-old Lemieux also has an impressive record as he’s 34-2 with 31 Ko’s to his name. He’s an inch shorter at just over 5-foot-9 and also has a 70-inch reach. He’s fought 120 rounds since turning pro in. His two losses have been against Joachim Alcine by majority decision and Marco Antonio Rubio by seventh-round stoppage in two consecutive outings in 2011. He recently won his IBF title by beating Hassan N’Dam in for the vacant crown. Both of these fighters have tremendous power as Golovkin owns a knockout ratio of 91 per cent while Lemieux’s is 86 per cent.
Up to now, Golovkin has shown that he has a granite chin, while Lemieux’s is somewhat questionable. The Canadian is hoping to test Golovkin’s mettle in this fight by hoping to match power for power. Golovkin owns the better boxing skills and this fight may start out with the WBA Champion utilizing them. However, sooner or later they’re probably going to trade bombs. Basically, the combination of the most power and best chin should dictate who wins this fight.
If Golovkin can take Lemieux’s best shots though, then the Canadian doesn’t really have elite boxing skills to fall back on. But if Lemieux can stand up to Golovkin’s fierce body and head shots the Kazakh could simply try to take the fight on points. It’s hard to say if the fireworks will go off right from the opening bell and this probably depends on Lemieux’s plan and tactics. If he starts out like a house on fire then it’ll become an early brawl.
Prediction
There’s not really much sense in analyzing a boxing match that’s expected to turn into a slugfest. Golovkin’s the favourite here and that’s understandable. This could be over in the first round or it may go just past the halfway mark. However, don’t expect it to go the distance. If Lemieux can’t hurt Golovkin then he’s likely toast and will be stopped. But if Golovkin’s chin isn’t as good as fans believe then the opposite could happen. Just enjoy if for what it is. If forced to make a prediction though, I’d go with Golovkin.
