It is no surprise that the tickets for Gennady Golovkin vs David Lemieux bout were sold like hot cakes as it one of the bigest fights in recent times. The mega bout will take shape at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.
Many expect Golovkin to fill the void left by the retirement of Floyd Mayweather, hence there is huge pressure on the shoulders of the WBA, WBC and IBO middleweight Kazakh champion.
The fight between the two champion boxers is expected to be of top quality with plenty of punches, jabs and upper cuts, not those deft ones, but feisty ones that possess venom to knock the other down with brute force.
This is one of the biggest fights in Golovkin's career, as it his first pay-per-view bout and the Kazakh boxer stature has been growing so much over the years that one can expect a number of pay-per-view bouts in the future. He is expected to be the next big thing in boxing.
What makes the fight even more interesting is the fact that both the boxers – Golovkin and Lemieux -- have won a major share of their matches via knockouts, which just establishes their dominance inside the ring. Golovkin, who has not lost a single bout, has knocked out 30 of his 33 opponents so far while Lemieux has won 31 of his 36 fights via knock out.
One cannot wait for the middleweight boxers to square off against one another. Golovkin believes this is his biggest fight of his career.
"This is the biggest test for me," ESPN quoted Golovkin as saying.
"[Lemieux is] the IBF champ. It's big situation, unification, pay-per-view. Right now it's a very interesting situation to be in in the middleweight division. I think we have three or four fighters [at the top] and it's very important [to determine] who is No. 1."
There is plenty of top competition in the middleweight class with other top boxers such as Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez also in the fray. However, Golovkin does not want to think too much ahead and concentrate on Lemieux, who possesses raw power.
Lemieux, who, after suffering back-to-back losses against Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine in 2011, has looked a different boxer and has in fact looked sharp. Lemieux believes that he will make history on Saturday and indeed it will be one special occasion if the Canadian manages to defeat Golovkin, who is still unbeaten.
"I have made a lot of changes in my life [since the losses]. All of what I have done has led me here and I am extremely excited and proud to be here," Lemieux said. "I am here to make history and I promise that I have done everything it takes to make sure that I don't leave empty-handed. I will leave with the belts," said Lemieux.
Where to watch live
Primarily, the main event fight -- Gennady Golovkin vs David Lemieux -- is expected to start around midnight time in the US, though, the live coverage for the other fights are scheduled for 9pm EST (6:30am IST, 2am BST) start. Unfortunately, there is no live coverage in India.
There are two undercard fights -- Roman Gonzalez vs Brian Viloria and Luis Ortiz vs Matias Vidondo.
US viewers can watch the entire coverage includingGennady Golovkin vs David Lemieux bout on HBO (PPV)
Viewers in UK have the privilege of watching the Gennady Golovkin vs David Lemieux bout on Box Nation.
