Boxing Superstar and WBA, IBO and WBC “Interim” Middleweight Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, (33-0, 30KOs), Four-Time World Champion in two weight divisions, Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria, (36-4 (22KOs) and top junior welterweight prospect Ruslan Madiyev, 5-1-0 (3KOs) held media workouts for a huge gathering of local press on Tuesday afternoon at the Wild Card West Boxing Gym in Santa Monica, California.
Golovkin, (33-0, 30KOs), will battle IBF Middleweight World Champion David Lemieux, (34-2, 31KOs) in a Middleweight World Championship Title Unification bout on Saturday, Oct. 17 at the “Mecca of Boxing” Madison Square Garden and LIVE on HBO Pay-Per-View. Golovkin has knocked out an astounding 20 opponents in a row and will be making his 15th world championship defense. His 91% knockout percentage is the highest in the history of the middleweight division.
In the highly anticipated televised co-feature, Viloria, (36-4, 22KOs), will challenge
Consensus #1 Pound-For-Pound Fighter and WBC Flyweight World Champion, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, (43-0, 37KOs). A duel citizen of the United States and the Philippines, Viloria also represented the United States in the 2000 Olympics. He has previously held world titles in the junior flyweight and flyweight divisions.
Top junior welterweight prospect, Ruslan Madiyev, (5-1-0, 3KO’s) will also be fighting in a scheduled four round bout against an opponent to be announced. The 21-year-old Madiyev is trained by the renowned Abel Sanchez alongside Golovkin in Big Bear Lake, California.
Below are what the fighters and their teams had to say:
GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, WBA, IBO and WBC Interim Middleweight Champion:
“Training camp is a little bit new, a little bit different, not like any of the others. New ideas and new strategies and it’s very interesting. We have different sparring partners because of his style.”
“Lemieux is a champion and he feels like a champion and this is a unification fight. I think he is ready for a unification fight and he understands the situation. He is smarter now
because of his experience in his recent fights.”
“Right now he feels better because he has a stronger team. He gets to talk with Oscar and Bernard. Bernard tells him, I remember my fight at Madison Square Garden against Tito. Right now he is acting like a star – I see the videos – and of course he is a star.”
“Madison Square Garden is a beautiful place with a beautiful team and I have a lot of respect for that place. HBO Pay-per-view is the last step – it is the top.”
“This is going to be like a street fight. He has a good style – almost like amateur style. I will beat any style – amateur style or brawl style. He will be a good test for me.”
You have a strong chin?
“Yes, and I thank my parents for my strong chin. Lemieux will be a test for my chin. But it’s not just my chin. It is distance and discipline, timing and style.”
“I am a regular guy. I am a regular man. (The power) also comes from my parents. This is boxing. It’s not just because I have power. Power comes from every step, timing, it’s the style where every second is important and I give credit to Abel Sanchez and my team.”
“Every fight is different and every fight is difficult. This is a big step, but first it is a big test and everyone understands that this step is much bigger.”
(Cotto or Canelo next?)
“It doesn’t matter and I don’t think about it. For me? Whoever is number one. I want all of the belts in the middleweight division and I will fight whoever is number one and it doesn’t matter who it is. I don’t like business. I like old school – who is number one?”
“I think this fight is more technical for me, and maybe for him too.”
“It is very interesting for me because right now he is a star. With power alone, he could go maybe three or four rounds with me. If he boxes he could go twelve rounds. Every second is very important – every round – every step.”
(Does his knockout strength mean anything to you?)
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“He has his style. I like my style and my work.”
“I love my life. I am happy. My wife is happy. My son goes to school and he is happy. I have a car. Three or four Rolls Royce or Bentley? For what?”
BRIAN “HAWAIIAN PUNCH” VILORIA, Former Four-Time World Champion in Two Weight Divisions:
“I want it more. I have preparing myself for this type of event, I have been wanting this for this so long. I have so much more fire now.”
“The styles make the fights, a lot of people know that it is going to be an action packed fight and a lot of people gravitate towards that.”
“Finally, we have been wanting this fight for the past two years and to finally have it here, it is exciting.”
“I have never seen a guy to take it to him and I feel like I will be that fighter that will step up to him.”
“Can’t wait. I am prepared and I want time to move faster. I am mentally, physically ready for this fight and ready to show the world what can happen.”
“This is going to be the best Viloria that people have ever seen.”
Abel Sanchez, Head Trainer to Gennady Golovkin:
“This preparation has been different. Finally, he has gotten someone who he considers as a threat. Someone that he feels will give him a fight for as long as it lasts.”
“All the great fighters have been hurt and if that happens how is he going to react? But I am confident that it won’t go twelve, he is going to go down as one of the best punchers and best middleweights ever.”
TOM LOEFFLER, Managing Director of K2 Promotions:
“It has been a great camp. Sparring has been going along well. This is the biggest fight and biggest puncher of his career and it’s two champions fighting each other, that is why people and the media are gravitating towards this fight.”
“He has been training hard with Abel and focused on sparring making sure he is ready for a power puncher like Lemieux. ”
Ruslan Madiyev, Welterweight Prospect:
“Training has been going well, I have been training with Gennady for the past year as part of my training camp.”
“There is a lot of intensity a whole different workout. I have grown a lot technically but also feel a lot stronger.”
“It is a dream come true to fight at Madison Square Garden and I am going to show all the fans an exciting fight.”
Golovkin vs. Lemieux is presented by K2 Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions in association with GGG Promotions and Eye of the Tiger Management. 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.
Tickets for GOLOVKIN vs. LEMIEUX are on sale now and priced at $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50 and can purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com.
