On October 17, Gennady Golovkin steps into the ring to face IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux in a unification shootout ?
The matchups have been made and the best seems to be matched with the best.
Appropriately things get started at Madison Square Garden and end (in the US) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In between, there is plenty to like elsewhere, especially in Germany and the UK.
October 17
On October 17, WBA, IBO, and interim WBC middleweight champion Gennady ?GGG? Golovkin steps into the ring to face IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux in a unification shootout that seemingly cannot possibly go the distance. Golovkin (33-0) currently holds the highest knockout ratio (91%) in middleweight championship history and will be going for an incredible 21st consecutive KO victory when he steps into Madison Square Garden?s storied ring.
Montreal-based power-puncher Lemieux (34-2) captured the IBF middleweight title in dominant fashion with an impressive win on June 20 over Hassan N?Dam N?Jikam that reestablished him as a serious threat to beat anyone in his division. Moreover, his knockout ratio is an eye-popping 86%.
If Lemieux decides to fight inside (which seems likely given his reach issues), look for this one to sizzle immediately but also look for an early knockout. GGG is no Hassan N?Dam and he will press the action until the matter is closed.
And then
Roman ?Chocolatito? Gonzalez (43-0) meets Brian Viloria (34-4) in a mouthwatering co-feature that will showcase Chocolatito?s top P4P Ring magazine credentials. While Viloria is far from a walkover, this fight could well provide the wherewithal for a training film on how to cut off the ring, stalk, stun, and then close out a fight.
October 24
Ultra-skilled Kell ?Special K? Brook (35-0) defends his IBF welterweight title against Argentinean Diego Chaves (23-2-1) at Sheffield?s Motorpoint Arena. Brook said that Chaves ?was coming off a draw to Tim Bradley, was ahead on the cards against Brandon Rios until he was disqualified and gave Keith Thurman a solid fight so we know what level he has mixed at and how good he is.? Chaves says, ?This raises the stakes for me, going up there as an Argentine and as a huge underdog. We know all the bad blood that exists between Argentina and England, and this will give me much more strength. I will be making history if I defeat an Englishman in his own country.?
November 21
The UK?s Martin Murray (32-2-1) travels to Germany for still another world title attempt as he challenges surging WBO 168-pound champion Arthur Abraham (43-4) in Hanover. Style-wise, this could be a brutal affair.
And then there?s Las Vegas
With a nod to Salvador Sanchez vs. Wilfredo Gomez in 1981 and all the other legendary fights between Mexican and Puerto Rican boxers, the biggest ?real? fight of 2015 will likely be between lineal and WBC World middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (40-4) and former WBC junior middleweight titleholder and visibly ripped Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (45-1-1) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 25-year-old Canelo says, ?I?m honored to be fighting a true warrior. It?s an honor, and I?m going to prepare very well because I want to win this fight.? Cotto, who is the first native of Puerto Rico to become world champion in four different weight classes, says, ?I?m Puerto Rican. Canelo is Mexican. The rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico is huge.?
In May 2015, the charismatic Alvarez took out James Kirkland in front of 31,000 fans with a frightening ending that featured what many have already deemed the ?Knockout of the Year.? For his part, the equally charismatic Cotto seems rejuvenated under the tutelage of Freddie Roach.
The buzz is on. The heat is coming. No excuses. No bad injured shoulders. No running. This is Macho Explosivo. This is BIG
November 28
?I?m serious as cancer when I say, Wladimir, you?re getting knocked spark out?Take me to Germany and unleash the dog in me, and I will rip his heart out.??Tyson Fury
?Fury is a bipolar psychopath.??Wladimir Klitschko
The much-anticipated heavyweight world title fight between long-reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-3) and mandatory challenger Tyson Fury postponed on September 25 has been rescheduled for November 28 and is expected to be witnessed by a live crowd of over 50,000.
The prospect of a hefty 6?9? pugilist who can box in a relaxed manner behind a solid jab and a dangerous right versus the proven 6?6? Dr. Steelhammer is something for the ages?or maybe it?s the beginning of something new in the heavyweight division, a new ?new normal? if you will.
Wannabe Batman and superb showman Fury has accumulated an unbeaten record of 24-0 since making his professional debut in 2008, with 18 of those victories coming by stoppage. The politically incorrect giant has told Klitschko that it is his ?mission to rid boxing of you.?
Klitschko says of Fury, ?I believe I can change him in a better way as a person. I?ve done a great job as a therapist for David Haye. And David Haye became a better person after fighting me. You can join the circus after losing to me and that is a compliment because there is a difference between acting funny or being funny and being stupid. From watching the hysteria, the rolling around and changing costumes, it is in your genes, you have the talent to make people laugh. That doesn?t mean you can fight.?
Fury responded, ?Call me a clown again and I will fight you here and now. Just make sure you turn up on the night. You have never fought a Gypsy king before. I cannot wait for this. I wish it was this weekend. You would be getting knocked out. You will [taste] a lot of the canvas on fight night. Nobody can help you. I?m coming to knock you spark out. You?re going to be begging for help.?
December 5
This one has old-school written all over it. WBA World middleweight champion Danny ?Miracle Man? Jacobs (30-1) will defend his title against fellow-Brooklyn resident Peter ?Kid Chocolate? Quillin (32-0-1) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. ?There is no doubt this is going to be one of the biggest fights Brooklyn has ever seen,? said Jacobs. ?I know there is so much at stake for me?a belt and Brooklyn bragging rights. It?s going to be a night to remember for me and for all of Brooklyn.?
December 12
Unbeaten heavyweight prospect 6?6? Anthony Joshua (14-0) has predicted he will get his revenge against old nemesis Dillian Whyte (16-0) on December 12 in London, and avenge his 2009 loss to the Brixton-based bomber. ?He beat me early in my amateur career with big gloves and headgear,? said Joshua. ?On this occasion I?ll get rid of him. No question. This is my time.?
Whyte has taken the low road and labeled Joshua a ?scumbag? and a ?drug dealer from Watford.? Not surprisingly, the fight sold out in six hours.
Joshua?s ambitions extend far beyond Whyte. With an impressive win, he could well become the new Golden Boy of British heavyweight boxing.
Eddie Hearn summed up things nicely in the International Business Times.
?It?s the simplest path I?ve seen,? he said. ?Nothing can stop him except beating himself and that?s not going to happen because he works too hard. He could be a complete asshole but he isn?t, his feet are firmly on the ground and he lives with his mum. David Haye talks about fighting but he wants the right payday to come back. I?ve had a couple conversations with David. He?s a sharp guy and he knows the size of the fight with Anthony. It?s one of the toughest fights out there for Anthony but we?re looking at him winning world titles so he doesn?t need to go through David Haye to get them.?
* * *
If Andre Ward want to fiddle about trying to figure out who to fight next, and if Adonis Stevenson continues to avoid being Krushed, and if Deontay Wilder continues to avoid Povetkin, and if Khan, Thurman, Eubank, Frampton, Quigg, Porter, Groves, Pacquiao, etc. continue to ponder their next moves ever so tiresomely, well then, it?s a boxing fan?s joy to watch more decisive men step up and do their thing?in the ring.
And, oh yes, James DeGale (21-1) should beat a somewhat worn Lucien Bute (32-2) on November 28, and Terence Crawford (26-0) should dispatch Dierry Jean (29-1). But in my view, neither makes the cut as a ?Best vs. the Best? affair, but at least they are staying active.
Ted Sares is one of the world?s oldest active power lifters and holds several world and state records. He enjoys writing about boxing. Follow us on Twitter@boxing_com to continue the discussion
