Gennady Golovkin ready to step into Floyd Mayweather’s shoes

The next middleweight in that tradition is 33-year-old Gennady Golovkin, who makes his HBO pay-per-view debut against David Lemieux this Saturday (October 17) at a sold-out Madison Square Garden.

Golovkin’s time to strike is now. One will be unified champion holding three-fourths of the middleweight titles.

Both Ortiz and Johnson are heavily favored in their respective matchups. Many will be stunned if the main event goes the 12-round distance. At this level, you can’t fight like that.

Lemieux has won his last nine fights. Of his 4 losses, he’s only been stopped once, so it’d be a big feather in Gonzalez’s cap if he can defeat this former world champion and add to his list of knockouts. Gonzalez turned pro at the age of eighteen.

This will be the 15th defence of his WBA title. Viloria has tasted defeated several times in his career including defeats to Juan Francisco Estrada, Carlos Tamara, Edgar Sosa, and Omar Nino Romero. What mattered was who you’re knocking out. That’s a huge advantage because he expends less energy when he punches, something that aids him in carrying his power deep into the bout.

Both Golovkin and Lemieux have devastating power. Until now, most potential opponents have avoided Golovkin because the risk/reward ratio is too low. If Golovkin throws caution to the wind in an attempt to close the show via spectacular knockout, he could get caught flush.

Both Lemieux and Golovkin had successful amateur careers.

Bah!-Enough. Golovkin may not be the fighter of his mystique, but he would have to fall impossibly short of it to lose to Lemieux. Just what boxing needs, another boring shut out win for Mayweather. “He has [a] plan [for his] future”.

Golovkin’s fights usually translate into big ratings for HBO. We’ve seen Lemieux in trouble before against Marco Antonio Rubio back in 2011, and the first bit of resistance he felt, he folded and his corner threw in the towel. The Montreal, Canada native is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win against Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam in June.

Golovkin’s camp sees a template in Pacquiao, another boxer with a long global reach whose popularity swelled when mainstream sports fans got to see his playful, relatable side. Sanchez even told On The Ropes Boxing that “in the fourth round Golovkin knocks” Lemieux out. “Gennady fought Willie Monroe two weeks later and fans got to see Gennady’s style compared to those that aren’t that exciting”.

“I’m a big underdog, which is flawless by me”.

Contrary to what is said by the talking muscle spasms in the brains of my googlie-eyed stalkers, when it comes to fighters, I’ve never let my likes and dislikes color my honest analysis of a situation.

“For me, the Mayweather era was not about seeing who was the very best, it wasn’t about boxing, it was about business”, De La Hoya said. “The way I would fight him today is attack him”.

Golovkin’s popularity has increased mostly because he has fought at Madison Square Garden (last July) and in Southern California.

Tim Burke: It hurts my soul that I’m in Russian Federation right now and will be unable to watch the fight because it’s on in the middle of the night. Second, it’s a big fight on HBO and he’s strong and hungry.

“No, this fight had to be pay-per-view because that’s the only way we could make the economics work between two world champions”, said Loeffler. It is expected to be an all-action fight and one of the best in 2015. “I’m prepared to take the title from Roman”.

“I’m aware of his record but I am also aware of who I am and what I can bring to the table”, Lemieux said.

“I would disarm him and then I would make him fight the fight that I want to fight”, Hopkins said. Nothing is going to be in my way. It’s kind of like David and Goliath. You might not even know how to pronounce “Gennady Golovkin”.

“I’m ready for this fight and will give my best”.

We talked to Golovkin, who now holds the WBA, IBO and WBC middleweight belts, about his fight this weekend and what he thinks of his new position on the pound-for-pound charts. Your columnist writes about this stuff for a living–I’ve gotta watch these PBC shows.

“I live, breathe and eat boxing”. I have prepared myself very well for this fight. It’s why I give the edge to GGG.

Still, there has been no boxer outside the USA and Mexico with any notable pay-per-view success, and it remains to be seen if Golovkin will be the fighter who breaks through. “I think it’s a big step for me in this situation. I know my job”. I got the title.