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DAVID LEMIEUX HAS WAR ON HIS MIND; PLANS TO SHOCK THE BOXING WORLD WITH KO OF GENNADY GOLOVKIN

By Luis Sandoval | October 09, 2015
DAVID LEMIEUX HAS WAR ON HIS MIND; PLANS TO SHOCK THE BOXING WORLD WITH KO OF GENNADY GOLOVKIN

It started almost as a myth. The stories were about a Middleweight fighter up in a mountain who was hitting like a Heavyweight and dropping Light Heavyweights in sparring. Gennady Golovkin's legend and popularity have grown leaps and bounds since three years ago and now the undefeated champion has a new challenge in front of him in David Lemieux, who, much like everyone else who have stepped in the ring with the Kazakhstan, is a major underdog.

Vice President of Golden Boy Promotions Eric Gomez himself even referred to the upcoming October 17 matchup at Madison Square Garden in New York between Golovkin and Lemieux  as a real life David and Goliath. But when speaking to Lemieux, he sounds more like the Goliath in this fight as he's coming in confident and looking to shock the boxing world.

"I said it before when this fight was just announced. A lot of people are going to be speechless and a lot of things will have to be rewritten with all the big names behind the scenes in boxing because of what I'm going to bring to the table October 17th. You cannot underestimate anybody, especially not at this level. But let people think or say what they want. It's for me to prove them otherwise. I'm coming to win," Lemieux would tell FightHype during a recent interview.

Lemieux assures training camp is going great and he has never felt better. He's never put so much intensity in all his training as he has for this fight, and he makes it a point to state that he's coming fully prepared for anything and everything Golovkin may bring on fight night.

Despite Lemieux currently being an 8-1 underdog, there is heavy interest in this fight from the public. It had the biggest ticket presale for any boxing event at Madison Square Garden and they will sell out the almost 20,000 seat arena come fight night. With all this happening, you have to wonder what Lemieux's mindset is going into a fight of this magnitude. He summed it up in one word.

"War! War! This is going to be a brutal fight," Lemieux responded. You can almost picture him wearing the same red "War" hat that Marvin Hagler had on before his fight with Thomas Hearns.

"It's going to be a fight people are going to be talking about for many, many years to come. It's going to be a very good fight and I'm very confident. I'm the most prepared I've ever been and I feel I'm at my strongest I've ever been. I think the surprise is going to be on their side."

When you look at both fighters' records and recent fights, it's obvious both men can punch and carry power in both fists. That's one of the dynamics that makes this such an anticipated fight. Even if you favor Golovkin, you know Lemieux has that dynamite needed to turn a fight around with one punch.

While most think the winner will be determined by who is able to land first, Lemieux thinks it comes down to who is willing to endure and go through more. He also doesn't think this fight reaches the final bell.

"[It comes down to] who has the bigger heart. Who can take the most and keep going? Of course, power and punches, will play a role. Boxing is boxing. But being extremely well prepared and you have to have a lot of character and a lot of heart. Some guys just don't want to get knocked out, and I don't want to get knocked out. And I'm sure Golovkin doesn't want to get knocked out, so it's going to be a very tough fight. There will be a knockout, so it's going to be interesting," declared Lemieux as he chuckled.

David Lemieux's path here didn't come without its share of roadblocks. While Gennady Golovkin's career to the United States was ready to begin, Lemieux's career took a hit after he suffered back-to-back losses in 2011 to Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachin Alcine. But David was able to put his career back together. He's racked up nine straight victories, including winning his first world title this past June against Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam to set up this unification fight with Golovkin. It was a change not many fighters are able to make after suffering setbacks, but Lemieux credits his team and specifically his manager for his turnaround.

"Well, changes happen in the mindset and the ace of spades in my change has been Camille Estephan. He's been my manager, who had with me more than just a manager and boxer relationship. This guy is part of our family. Not because of what he's brought to the table, but because of what we've had over the years. The understanding we have and we've achieved some great highs. We are well aware of where we're going. You know, to lead a war, you need two good captains or a very good captain and a lieutenant, and if you have that, any fight can be won. You need a good plan. You need to be strong and you need to takes risks necessary to get you to reach heights others won't," explained Lemieux.

Their partnership has now reached a new height as they take on the king of a glamour division and, according to some people, the possible heir apparent to the throne of pound-for-pound king vacated by Floyd Mayweather. It's a tall order; one Lemieux is not only ready for, but one that he's wanted.

This will only be his second fight outside of the confines of his home country of Canada, but he feels right at home and plans to repeat the same success in the Big Apple he had last year against Gabriel Rosado.

"To me, the world is my home. Fighting anywhere, I will adapt. New York is not really far from Montreal anyway. It's like a 6-hour drive and it's 45 minutes by airplane. I think it's going to be further for Golovkin than it is for me. I've been to New York many, many times," said Lemieux. "So I'm all for fighting in New York. I love fighting in New York. It's the mecca of boxing at Madison Square Garden, so there's going to be an insane amount of energy in that building. I have a lot of fans there and after the Rosado fight, a lot of people gave me a big round of applause. They really liked what I brought to the table and I think it's going to be very similar, but with a different opponent on October 17th".

Regardless of who wins next Saturday night, there will be guaranteed fireworks in Manhattan.



[ Follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007 ]

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