Golovkin to fight Lemieux Oct. 17 for middleweight unification title at Madison Square Garden

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Rising star Gennady Golovkin will meet Canada’s David Lemieux in a middleweight title unification fight Oct. 17 at Madison Square Garden, promoters announced Friday.

Golovkin, who has stopped 30 opponents in winning all 33 of his fights, will face another power puncher in Lemieux, who is 34-2 with 31 knockouts, in a fight where both boxers will have titles on the line.

“I look forward to fighting again at Madison Square Garden and putting on another big drama show for my fans in New York City,” said the fighter popularly known as Triple G.

Golovkin, who is from Kazakhstan but lives in Los Angeles, last fought in May when he stopped Willie Monroe Jr. in the sixth round of their scheduled 12 round fight. He has won his last 20 fights within the distance, earning a reputation as a feared puncher who some fighters have gone out of their way to avoid.

Lemieux is not one of those, and like Golovkin has plenty of knockout power. Lemieux, from Montreal, won his piece of the 160-pound title with a decision in June against Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam.

The fight will be televised on pay-per-view by HBO.