Gennady Golovkin's time to unify belts

The_budweiser · July 25, 2015

Middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin's goal for years has been to unify belts, but boxing's most fearsome puncher has not been able to convince any of the other beltholders or big names to dare face him.

Until now.

Montreal slugger David Lemieux, also one of boxing's biggest hitters, will meet Golovkin to unify their 160-pound world titles Oct. 17 in an HBO PPV main event at Madison Square Garden in New York, K2 Promotions managing director Tom Loeffler, Golovkin's promoter, and Golden Boy's Oscar De La Hoya, who represents Lemieux, said Saturday.

It's a match that figures to be explosive -- a big drama show, as Golovkin would say -- between two of boxing's most crowd-pleasing and aggressive fighters, both of whom possess devastating punching power.

"In one word: Finally," Loeffler told ESPN.com. "We've gone to great lengths to try to put unification fights together for Gennady. We have to give Lemieux and Golden Boy a lot of credit for stepping up to the plate. Gennady will not underestimate Lemieux. He is the biggest puncher he will have ever faced, and Gennady will be the biggest puncher Lemieux will have ever faced.

"It is a great unification fight between two champions and the two biggest punchers in the middleweight division. If Lemieux wins he takes over the spot as the best middleweight in the world, and if Gennady wins he stays the best middleweight in the world."

Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs), 33, of Kazakhstan and living in Los Angeles, has knocked out 20 opponents in a row, including all 14 in his title defenses. The 26-year-old Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) is also a blistering puncher. But although he dropped Hassan N'Dam four times in their June 20 fight for a vacant world title in Montreal, Lemieux won a unanimous decision.

Shortly after Lemieux's title victory, which came just a month after Golovkin knocked out Willie Monroe in the sixth round of a one-sided title defense May 16, Loeffler and De La Hoya began talking about making the fight

Source: Gennady Golovkin, David Lemieux will meet in middleweight title unification fight

chico · July 26, 2015