Gennady Golovkin is just six days away from headlining his first HBO pay-per-view, as the popular, devastating middleweight titleholder takes on a fellow dangerous puncher in Canadian slugger David Lemieux at Madison Square Garden, which is expected to be sold out for the fight.
Golovkin (33-0, 30 KO) and Lemieux (34-2, 31 KO) never look to go the distance, and most feel it would be a huge upset for this fight to reach the final bell after round 12. The two sat down with HBO's Max Kellerman for the 'Face Off' special, and shared their thoughts on the matchup.
"He's a champion. He's a strong guy, a dangerous guy. Everybody knows this. Everybody knows my style. And I think it's very interesting for people, for TV, for other fighters," said Golovkin.
"We're the two most devastating fighters out there. Our KO ratios show, our fighting styles show what we can do. But people want to see who is the top, who is number one," Lemieux added.
Asked about his willingness to unify belts with Golovkin, Lemieux told Kellerman, "People say he is the top middleweight. It's time to stop up. Every guy has his match, and I believe I've got what it takes to beat Golovkin."
In perhaps the most chilling bit of the interview, Kellerman asked Golovkin about his fight with Curtis Stevens, who talked a lot of trash in the lead up to the fight.
"I remember this fight. You're right, Max, you know, I don't lose control. I feel him. Just, you know, I can beat him after the first time I knock him down," Golovkin said. "And for me, it's important, like, beat him, like, maybe, like ... punish him. Yeah. Beat him, beat him, beat him. He understands, he has best mouth. He understands, this is boxing. Respect boxing. Respect sport. This is not streetfight. You want streetfight? Let's go. I show you. We have time. We have 12 rounds. I show, every round. I beat him. Beat him, beat him, beat him. His corner, respect his corner. He has to understand, he said, stop. Stop the fight."
"You wanted to teach him a lesson," Kellerman said.
"Exactly," Golovkin replied.
I'm gonna go lock my doors now.