Heading into the HBO pay-per-view televised Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux showdown on October 17th at Madison Square Garden – a fight we’ve declared is for our vacant world middleweight championship – both camps have been vocally confident. But which factors will truly decide the match’s outcome? Here, we look at the top 3 questions to ask to determine the winner of Golovkin vs. Lemieux.
1. How will Lemieux’s chin hold up?
This is the big question, of course. Golovkin has been on that historic, well-publicized knockout streak, even as his level of opposition has raised. Matthew Macklin, Daniel Geale, Martin Murray and all the rest, they’ve all either been blown apart early or broken and battered down later on.
Lemieux has been stopped before, too, although as a much younger and less complete fighter. He’s added to his game since then, he’s stronger and more well rounded, and his confidence is plenty high right now as we’ve mentioned. But can he possibly hold up when GGG starts connecting?
The key of course will be to try to avoid taking as many flush shots as possible. It seems clear that nobody at middleweight can stand up to 12 rounds of punishment from Golovkin. So if Lemieux wants to win the fight, the goal isn’t to endure that, but rather, be able to survive a few solid connects, and some tough moments, before dishing out his own firepower.
2. Can GGG be hurt?
GGG batters you with every punch, works precisely to the body and head, and sets up his shots expertly, using a diverse arsenal. Yet, shot for shot, Lemieux may have even more explosive power than Golovkin does. So can GGG be hurt?
His defense isn’t stellar, as he never prioritizes it — he even lets himself be hit from time to time, although that won’t be a good strategy here. If Golovkin is too careless, he’s going to expose himself to some bombs coming back in his direction. Golovkin has displayed a solid chin and fighter’s mentality in previous contests, but never against the types of monster shots that Lemieux can unleash. Lemieux’s entire plan will certainly be to capitalize on those defensive liabilities and put the hurt on Golovkin.
3. Who has the better plan B?
But who has the better plan B? What will Lemieux do if he lands one of his bombs, but Golovkin is still standing? Or if he can’t land a big shot at all? What will Golovkin do if Lemieux doesn’t crumble, and the two get dragged into the type of lengthy, two-way rumble that he hasn’t had to deal with before?
As the more skilled of the two, I’d expect Golovkin to be better able to adapt to difficult circumstances. But he hasn’t really had to do that, and that’s why they fight the fights — because until it happens, we just won’t know.
So, how will these questions be answered, and who gets his hand raised on fight night? Head on over to our Golovkin vs. Lemieux preview & prediction to see how we think the fight will play out.
