Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux Fight Preview and Prediction to Win
When: Saturday, October 17, 2015
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
TV: HBO
Weight Class: Middleweight
Titles: IBF, WBA, and WBC Middleweight Titles
By Loot, Boxing Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Gennady Golovkin, 33-0 (30 KOs), Karagandy, Kazakhstan
Vs.
David Lemieux, 34-2 (31 KOs), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Betting Odds: Gennady Golovkin (-1900), David Lemieux (+1100)
Gennady Golovkin defends his titles when he meets fellow titlist David Lemieux at Madison Square Garden on October 17. For the ultra-dominant juggernaut Golovkin, Lemieux represents the most-dangerous foe he has faced. The Montreal-based Lemieux is a prodigious offensive fighter who offers some serious menace to the much-avoided Golovkin. The fighter known as "GGG" remains a prohibitive favorite.
Golovkin, 33, has yet to face what you will call a truly top fighter, through no fault of his own. The top 160-ponders have steered clear of him, not willing to risk their standing against such a robust force. Golovkin has knocked out his last 20 opponents. He seems impervious to pain and has a certain loose confidence about himself that is hard to crack. Golovkin is relentless, but stays within himself. He's a very composed and hard-hitting battler, a big middleweight who is solid, sound, and ultra-strong. His victims are usually left utterly defeated and deflated. He takes whatever you have to offer, spits it back in your face, and then clinically takes you out of the fight.
DEPOSIT $100 AND GET $50 FREE AT ONE OF THE WEB'S OLDEST SPORTSBOOKS: BOVADA SPORTSBOOK
The only thing keeping Golovkin from being a true superstar is his resume. Though well into his reign, he has yet to repel the challenge of a really high-caliber fighter. So we don't really know for sure. We can project, but we still don't know for sure. Maybe truly durable fighters can better soldier through his shots. Or perhaps the easy-to-hit Golovkin will be exploited when he faces a fighter who can punch hard. Maybe some of these answers will come in this fight.
Lemieux, 26, has youth on his side and is a very impressive offensive fighter. He is fast, punches hard, and is pretty fluid with his combinations. In addition, he has also improved since back-to-back losses to Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine in 2011. At one time, he was an offensive fighter who operated with more mindlessness. He would just go in there and start throwing his hardest shots. And most opponents couldn't handle it. But when he started running into world-class fighters, he was found to have a deficit in the finer points of the sport. He was expert at dishing it out, but not in taking it. His stamina would betray him. And his defense was exploited.
Nine straight wins have blown some wind back into Lemieux's sails. He has gone 12 rounds and shown himself to be more resourceful. But alas, that was against a far-lower grade of opposition, but it's still good to see a fighter recognize his shortcomings and work on them as Lemieux has. He realized that at a certain level, you can't just go out there and blow everyone away. He can employ a hard jab and control the tempo, as he looks for a spot to unleash his powerful hooks and right hands.
Sometimes, however, a fighter is who he is. Lemieux was young enough to change, but some of those same issues serve as major roadblocks to victory in this bout. How bankable is his stamina in a 12-round fight that figures to be ultra-demanding physically? Will his defense be able to have any affect on the incoming brutality that is Golovkin's calling-card? And will his chin hold up when (not if) Golovkin starts landing heavy shots? These are the hard questions we need to ask of Lemieux as he approaches this stiff challenge.
At the same time, what options do we have as bettors in this fight? Betting 19 to win 1 is not a very attractive proposition for potential GGG backers. Will Golovkin win? Probably. But as far as +1100 underdogs, you could do a lot worse than Lemieux. In a way, he is the ideal big underdog. He is improving. With 31 knockouts in 34 wins, he obviously has that proverbial "puncher's chance." His offense is really good and sometimes, an offense can be your best defense. Are the prospects of him winning this title problematic? Certainly, but that's why he is such a big underdog. When having huge odds against you, it's nice to have a fighter as explosive as Lemieux.
This has the looks of a shootout and a violent one at that. Lemieux may in fact be out of his element, as is often the case when facing 20/1 favorites. But with GGG having never really beaten anyone that great, combined with Lemieux's explosive potential, a whirl on Lemieux at a big underdog number seems like a good play.
Loot's Pick to Win the Fight: I'm betting on David Lemieux at +1100. Bet this game for FREE by taking advantage of a massive 100% sign-up bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 at GTBets!
