By Jake Donovan
Gennady Golovkin continues his meteoric rise as one of the fastest rising stars in boxing today. His upcoming October 17 middleweight unification bout with David Lemieux is well on its way to selling out Madison Square Garden, as event handlers are already considering the possibility of adding seats.
"We've sold already over 15,000 tickets in less than a week," MSG Executive Vice President Joel Fisher informed the assembled media on hand during the kickoff press conference Tuesday afternoon in New York City. "We set a record on the pre-sale, almost doubling the previously highest presale.
"We're looking into freeing up seats. It's become that big."
The card will air live on HBO Pay-Per-View, at a suggested retail price of $49.95. The televised undercard is still being formed, but will include World flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez in a dangerous defense versus two-division champ Brian Viloria.
Golovkin (33-0, 30KOs) fights on MSG property for the fourth time in his career, including his second appearance in the main room of the historic venue. The unbeaten knockout artist from Kazakhstan last appeared in New York City last July, scoring a 3rd round knockout of Daniel Geale in front of nearly 10,000 fans at Madison Square Garden.
His previous trips on site took place in 2013, both playing at MSG Theatre. A seven-round battering of Gabriel Rosado in Jan. '13 was the first of four knockouts in a Fight of the Year-level campaign in 2013, capped by his 8th round knockout of Curtis Stevens in front of a sold-out MSG Theatre crowd in November.
Following the win over Geale, Golovkin took his act to the West Coast, drawing record crowds at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. and The Forum in Inglewood for knockout wins over Marco Antonio Rubio and Willie Monroe, respectively.
It was agreed that his showdown with Lemieux (34-2, 31KOs)—like Golovkin, a fire-breathing puncher in a loaded middleweight division—was best suited for the East Coast, thus the return to Madison Square Garden.
Lemieux makes his second appearance in New York and in the United States. His stateside debut came last December, stopping Gabriel Rosado in the 10th and final roud of their crossroads bout at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
His lone fight of 2015 was the biggest win of his career, scoring four knockdowns en route to a 12-round decision over Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam this past June to collect a vacant title.
Intial plans for the remainder of the year called for an optional defense while awaiting a mandatory challenger to be named. His team—which includes Golden Boy Promotions and Eye of the Tiger Management—decided the best fit for his career was to head straight into a unification bout with Golovkin.
"Who would have thought a small kid like me smoking cigarettes at 9-10 years old would be here, helping fill up Madison Square Garden," Lemieux noted, taking it all in while at the podium.
The winner of the fight will be in line to next face the victor of another major middleweight fight, the November 21 clash between World middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
If the winner of Cotto-Alvarez doesn't oblige, then the belt at stake will be awarded by default to whomever comes out ahead on October 17.
Whatever the case, this event was designed to give fans an explosive fight at a price they can afford, and the purchasing public has spoken. The hope is that PPV sales will mirror the success at the live gate.
"We want as many PPV subscribers and fans as possible to see this event," commented Tom Loeffler, managing director of K2 Promotions, Golovkin's promoter. " Just like with pricing tickets reasonably, we felt along with Golden Boy Promotions that this ($49.95) price point would allow for fans to afford this event."
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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