Possible date for Golovkin vs. Lemieux fight named
ASTANA. KAZINFORM - A unification fight between IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) and IBF 160lb champion David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) is possible for October 17th at Madison Square Garden in New York, according to Steve Kim, editor for Boxingscene.com. Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya is seriously thinking of matching the Golovkin-Lemieux fight, Kazinform refers to Vesti.kz citing Sportsnews24.com.
It makes a lot of sense for De La Hoya to have the Golovkin vs. Lemieux unification fight take place now rather than waiting for Lemieux to face his mandatory challenger next because there's a lot of risk involved with the 26-year-old Lemieux having to defend his title first before he gets to the Golovkin fight.
The International Boxing Federation has already told Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler that Lemieux doesn't have to defend against his IBF mandatory challenger in 2015. The fight can take place next year. In other words, there's nothing whatsoever blocking the Golovkin-Lemieux fight from taking place.
If Lemieux doesn't face Golovkin and loses to the winner of the Johnson vs. O'Kane fight, then Lemieux will have missed out on a big payday during his short rein as the IBF champion.