NEW YORK ? Abel Sanchez is in the minority when he observes the man who will stand in front of unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin tonight at sold out Madison Square Garden. What the world sees is a threat, which is why they?re paying to be there. What Sanchez sees is Golovkin?s next victim.
Sanchez is supposed to think like that because he?s charged with preparing Golovkin for what is the biggest fight of the 33-year-old champion?s career. Now holder of the WBA and interim WBC 160-pound titles, Golovkin will have the opportunity to add the IBF version if he can stop the rise of David Lemieux, who has gone from fringe contender to world champion behind a powerful punch and an underwhelming resume.
Lemieux has seldom ventured outside his native Canada, but in April won the vacant IBF title by outpointing Hassan N?Dam N?Jikam, a decent pro but not someone likely to make you forget Marvin Hagler. To be fair, neither is Golovkin or Lemieux, but they are two of the top middleweights in the world at the moment ? so to see them face off is in itself a gift to fight fans.
But is Lemieux capable of endangering Golovkin?s streak of 20 straight knockouts or blemishing his 33-0 record (with 30 KOs)? HBO hopes not but hopes the public thinks so because they decided to make this Golovkin?s first venture into the pay-per-view world, where sales are all that matters and Lemieux is part of the sales team ? or at least his concussive record of 24 first- or second-round KOs is.
Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) certainly sounds like he believes the hype, and one watching a highlight reel of his knockouts can come away fearing for Golovkin?s mind unless one has the kind of perspective of someone like Sanchez, who has spent his life training boxers. He is mindful of what Evander Holyfield used to say, which was that it didn?t matter how many knockouts you had. What mattered was who you?re knocking out.
?Everybody perceives this kid as a big puncher,? Sanchez said. ?I don?t believe he?s a big puncher. I believe he?s more like George Foreman ? a thumper.
?This (Golovkin) is a sharp puncher. Once he hits you, you stay hit. You?re hurt. You?re on your knees. You don?t want to continue. David puts guys down and they get up. The first significant punch Gennady lands, we?re going to see a different fighter. We?re going to see David running from him. We?re going to see David going against the ropes. We?re going to see a different fighter because he?s going to realize this is what a puncher is.?
Not even Lemieux denies Golovkin?s power. He?s knocked out 91 percent of his opponents after all, the highest knockout ratio in middleweight history. Nor does he argue he?s developed a new style to combat Golovkin with wizardry and movement. He understands who he is, which is to say a Canadian-born Mexican-style fighter who wades forward as if fighting the tide.
?I?m aware of his record, but I?m also aware of who I am and what I bring to the table,? Lemieux insists. ?I?m going to be a lion in there. Nothing is going to be in my way. It?s kind of like David and Goliath. He is impressive and talented but there?s also David, who is making a lot of noise. I know what I?m going up against, but I?m going in with a nice package to deliver to Golovkin.
?I?m a big underdog but to me that makes no difference. I know who I am. I think Abel Sanchez and their whole team are quite underestimating me. Power is not something that frightens me. Nothing really frightens me when I?m in the ring and know I?m prepared. I?m not afraid to taste Golovkin?s power. What is he going to do when he feels the power that?s coming from my side?
?The fighter with the biggest heart, the one who can take and receive, wins this fight. We?re both hard punchers; everybody knows that. Let?s see beyond that. It?s not about power this fight. It?s about character and toughness and determination and who wants it more.?
Perhaps, but there is little reason to believe Golovkin wants to win less than Lemieux does, so desire will not separate them. Neither will character or toughness, which Golovkin seems to have in ample enough quantities. The difference, Golovkin believes, will be what always separates the great from the good in boxing.
The mind.
?Right now he feels like a champion,? Golovkin said. ?He feels like a star. A strong guy with good power. This fight is not for dancing. Like street fight. Old school.
?This fight is more technical for me. Maybe for him too? Right now he thinks just power. Three or four rounds . . . No! This is boxing. It?s not just power. Same power. Same defense, same style, different boxing IQ.?
In other words, Golovkin believes he knows how to box as well as fight. While the fight is on Saturday night it that doesn?t mean it will be a Saturday night pub brawl. Is brawling enough to beat a guy with over 300 amateur fights and 33 dominating wins as a professional, including two over guys who stopped Lemieux when he was a 22-year-old prospect?
?My two losses are completely insignificant to where I am today,? Lemieux said. ?They have zero significance. Those two losses were miscalculations. I changed everything in my life to be where I am today.
?I don?t look at his past or mine. We?re two hard punchers. We?re both 0-0 when we enter into that ring.?
But what will they be when they come out? One will be unified champion holding three-fourths of the middleweight titles. The other will have learned a lesson not only of power but of delivery systems.
?If Gennady is dumb enough to sit there and let David hit him with those wide, looping punches and catches him with a good shot, he deserves to get hurt,? Sanchez said. ?I don?t believe he?s that kind of fighter. He?s more cerebral.?
Most often than not, that?s who wins in boxing. Not the piano mover but the professor of pugilism. That won?t change tonight.
