And it appeared Golovkin’s other options, Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto, will square off sometime in November. So, Golovkin, a middleweight from Kazakhstan, took the next option and will be bring “The Big Drama Show” to the Big Apple.
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Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler announced that GGG will square off against David Lemieux in a middleweight title unification bout on Oct. 17 at Madison Square on pay-per-view.
“Finally we were able to get somebody to agree to fight Gennady, somebody that had something to risk,” Loeffler told The Associated Press. “Whenever there was a champion or somebody that had something to risk to fight Gennady, they would never get in the ring with him. The fans appreciate when a fighter has a lot of risk but steps up to the plate. That’s what makes a compelling fight.”
Golovkin holds the WBA middleweight belt and the WBC interim belt. Lemieux is the IBF middleweight champ.
Golovkin is undefeated in 33 career fights, has won his past 20 by knockout or TKO and has made 14 consecutive title defenses. He last fought in May, defeating Willie Monroe by sixth round stoppage. He is among boxing’s biggest names and one of the best in the world. Making the leap to PPV puts Golovkin in the top tier of the sport.
Pay-per-view “is a big step,” Loeffler said. “It opens up a whole different door for us to make these types of offers to get fighters in the ring with him. HBO is very confident in the success of this event, and the Garden made it clear with the deal they put together, they wanted this fight. This is really where Gennady launched his career, in New York, in the world’s most famous arena. And for him to come back now after being more than a year away, it’s very exciting for everyone involved.”
Lemieux, a Montreal native, won nine consecutive fights and stopped seven of his past nine opponents. He is 34-2 with 30 knockouts.
Steven Muehlhausen is a boxing and MMA writer and contributor for Sporting News. Email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA .
