In light of yet another dominant and lopsided performance at the hands of middleweight phenomenon Gennady Golovkin on Saturday night, the question surrounding the post-fight press conference in the bowels of Madison Square Garden early Sunday was not who could potentially beat Golovkin down the line. Instead, it was more an issue about who would even be willing to attempt to.
Golovkin (34-0, 31 KO?s) looked sharp and strong in his eight-round beat down of Lemieux approximately an hour before the post-fight press conference began. So strong, in fact, that the main discussion following his title unification victory revolved around whether linear WBC champion Miguel Cotto or rising challenger Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez would be open to fighting him next year.
Cotto and Canelo will, of course, first face off in a much-anticipated showdown on November 21 but the winner has been mandated by the WBC to defend immediately against Golovkin.
?My goal is all the belts,? said Golovkin, who now has the WBA and IBF versions. ?I want all the belts. That?s my plan A. I?m staying at 160 until I have all the belts. The winner of Cotto-Canelo? For sure. I?m not sure who will win that fight, but I want to fight the winner next.?
?Today is big day for me,? Golovkin continued. ?It?s big step for next, for future, for my story. I?m very proud. This is big day for me. Thanks to my fans. It was an amazing time for me.?
Unfortunately for Lemieux, Golovkin?s amazing time came via a dominant win inside the ring.
?I have a lot of respect for Golovkin as a fighter,? a marked up and dejected Lemieux said. ?We prepared well for this fight but I feel like I waited too long to take some shots tonight and that really hurt me.?
?I?m a bit disappointed tonight,? Lemieux (34-3, 31 KO?s) continued. ?I feel the fight was stopped too early. I was expecting a bit more power from him but he?s a good fighter and a good champion. I know I could?ve done a bit more in the fight. I wanted to extend the fight a bit longer. But he?s a very good fighter. His jab was very effective tonight.?
?It was a successful night for everyone, especially for the fans and especially for boxing,? Lemieux promoter Oscar De La Hoya stated. ?We tip our hat to Golovkin. Nothing was lost here. HBO wants him (Lemieux) back on TV.?
?He is a great champion and I?m glad to beat him,? said Golovkin. ?I feel very good distance. Every jab, I touch him.?
Whether those famous jabs (Golovkin lands 21 a round?four times the middleweight average) get to be thrown against Cotto or Canelo, however, remains to be seen. Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler said he would normally already have his sights set on the next assignment but that ?this one will really depend on what happens on November 21.?
No matter what happens then, though, it?s clear that ?GGG? is here and it doesn?t look like he?s going anywhere soon. As such, it was neither fighter nor promoter but instead Golovkin trainer Abel Sanchez who both summed up the night?s action and looked toward the future the most succinctly.
?Nobody,? Sanchez said, ?from 154 to 160 is going to stay with Gennady.?
