This Saturday night broadcasted live on HBO PPV from New York City, David Lemieux has a second chance to make a lasting impression. Gennady Golovkin is on a mission after Floyd Mayweather’s retirement announcement and David is the only thing standing in his way from a takeover. Ok that and a fight with the winner of Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto. Is this a stylistic dream of a brawl sent from the boxing gods? Or an overhyped mismatch on Pay-Per-View? It’s probably somewhere in between.
So a French-Armenian-Canadian and a Kazakstan native walk into a bar at Madison Square Garden. Spoiler alert, there’s no punch line but just a few short years ago this fight would’ve been considered a joke.
David Lemieux was on the fast-track to stardom being showcased on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights and HBO. He most definitely looked the part as a power puncher who had appeal that could summon the ladies to a fight the way Oscar did during his run. Not to mention his surname means “the best”. With a whole country behind him, Marco Antonio Rubio was the test that stood in his way to usher in a new middleweight contender. A win over Rubio would’ve gotten the ball rolling to his career. In the spring of 2011, Lemieux’s dreams came crashing down when he suffered at 7th round TKO by hands of Rubio.
A mild argument can be made that Lemieux could have continued. Looking back it was a great referee call and it probably saved David from a worse beating that potentially could have derailed his career further. The changes Lemieux made with his trainer and mindset have served him well. In the last two fights it’s not hard to see improvements in his game. On Saturday will get to find out if he’ll do his part to live up to all the hype surrounding this event.
Gennady Golovkin’s career has skyrocketed since making his debut on HBO some three years ago. His popularity started on the east coast and then last fall, absolutely exploded on the west coast at the Stub Hub Center and The Forum in May. Now Gennady heads back east to a sold out crowd in the Mecca of Boxing which of course is Madison Square Garden Arena.
Up until this point only Kassim Ouma and Martin Murray have put any kind of dent in Golovkin as a pro. Ouma landed a lot of punches and the sturdy Murray stood up to GGG’s power for 11-long rounds. But no one has hurt or even buzzed Gennady which brings us to his fight with the heavy-handed Lemieux.
David had better bring his jab in ring this Saturday night because his opponent, who just happens to own one of the most effective sticks in the business, will. Lemieux is probably the most fluid puncher Gennady’s been in with and it remains to be seen if David can back this opponent in to the ropes. If so this will be a classic war and a top contender for fight of the year.
One can’t help to wonder what will be going through the Canadian’s mind when Triple G hurts him. Will the memories of Rubio come into play? The only other time he has faced a true puncher was Marco Antonio Rubio. Is David strong enough mentality to stay on his game plan or switch when hurt?
For Golovkin this is a style made in heaven as long as Lemieux does what he said he will, a full-on attack in effort to push Triple G backwards. In his last fight after a couple of rounds Golovkin got careless resulting in a few competitive rounds. Even with the success Willy Monroe was never going to really hurt Golovkin.
It’s not a matter of when GGG hurts him it will be how David reacts. If Lemieux decides to keep exchanging while hurt he will get plastered. If Golovkin throws caution to the wind in an attempt to close the show via spectacular knockout, he could get caught flush. And maybe, just maybe, he won’t take the shot as good as he did when Rubio landed square on Gennady.
This one here will be a barn burner filled with action-packed exchanges until somewhere between rounds 5-7. By then Golovkin will have felt David’s power and made the proper adjustment with his footwork and punch placement. I just can’t completely forget Lemieux on shaky legs with only the ropes to hold him up from hard shots by Rubio.
My official prediction is Gennady Golovkin by 7th round TKO.
The HBO PPV Co-Feature could be a HBO main event on its own which helps ease the pain of the PPV cost. Many think Roman Gonzalez is the “Heir-Apparent” to Floyd Mayweather as the best pound for pound boxer on the planet. His resume is deep at a few weight classes and being a participant in the Flyweight Wars only strengthens “Chocolatito’s” case.
His opponent is the very qualified Brian Viloria and when these two styles clash it should give us a bang for are buck. Viloria’s career has been one filled with ups and downs but through it all the “Hawaiian Punch” rarely disappoints. In this matchup we may see Viloria on the back foot some weary of Gonzalez’s power. Viloria will need to be crafty and try to sneak in his counter shots while remaining busy.
I see a two-way scrap for large portions of the bout. Sooner or later Roman’s activity as he stalks his prey will pay off and ultimately wear Viloria down. Heavy body punches will lead to opening up top and that’s when the real trouble will ensue. In a spirited effort Brian Viloria will go out on his shield.
My official prediction is Roman Gonzalez by Late KO
Side Note: The PBC on Spike and NBC will be worth watching this weekend. On Friday, Andrzej Fonfara vs. Nathan Cleverly and Kohei Kono vs. Koki Kameda should be lighting in a bottle. (Top Rank TruTv on Friday as well) On Saturday, afternoon Lamont Peterson returns to face amateur standout Felix Diaz Jr. and in a battle of unbeaten prospects Prichard Colon meets Terry Williams.
Written by Chris Carlson Owner and Host of Rope-A-Dope-Radio blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio
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