Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin, or 'GGG' as he's more affectionately known, is 33-0 with 30 KOs, including an astonishing 20 straight. He's the clear-cut #1 middleweight (160 lbs) in the world, one of boxing's most entertaining fighters to watch, and one of the most feared power-punchers in the sport. Next Saturday night, Golovkin will unify his WBA belt vs. IBF champion David Lemieux, who himself is 34-2 with 31 KOs.
Before we break down that main event, let's take a look back at Golovkin's 6th round TKO win against Willie Monroe Jr, who came into the bout with a record of 19-1 (6 KOs). His lack of power and impressive wins on his resume put Monroe Jr. in the role of extremely heavy underdog in Los Angeles. A raucous, pro-Golovkin crowd expected a finish and got it when Monroe was decked in the 6th round, the 3rd knockdown of the fight, and he decided there was no need to continue. Monroe hit Golovkin numerous times between rounds 3-5, but Golovkin said he let him hit him because he wanted to give the fans a "drama show." Willie was dropped twice in the 2nd round, but survived just long enough to get beaten up some more.
I highly recommend watching his interview with Max Kellerman, because Golovkin has all sorts of broken English quotables. The full fight video can be watched at the top of the page.
Bloody Elbow will have extensive coverage of Golovkin vs. Lemieux all week long, leading up to our live play-by-play of the HBO PPV event ($59.95 HD/$49.95 SD) on Saturday, October 17th from Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York. For daily boxing coverage, including next week's show, go to Bad Left Hook.