By Luke Furman

WBA/IBO middleweight champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (33-0, 30KOs) will have a real fight on his hands on October 17th, when he's challenged by the dangerous IBF beltholder David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs). They will battle on HBO Pay-Per-View with New York's Madison Square Garden hosting the contest.

Golovkin has faced a lot of opponents over the years, but Lemieux is the first who comes in the ring with a near identical ratio of size, knockouts and aggression.

"I want to fight the best boxers and Golovkin is the best. He is currently at the top. When I beat him, I beat him at his best. I also have a lot of knockouts and a lot of power. This is a guy who comes forward, so I know that I won't have to run after him around the ring. It'll be a war," Lemieux told RDS .

"Golovkin has a habit of hurting his opponents mentally before demolishing them mentally, but I have the power and I know who I'm going to fight. I'm not going in there to fight against Golovkin, but I'm going in there to win against Golovkin."

Lemieux's manager and co-promoter Camille Estephan of Eye of the Tiger Management is very confident his fighter will come back to Canada with three belts around his waist.

"We would not have taken this fight if we did not believe that David could win. We know it will be difficult, but it will be a battle. People have argued that it could be the fight of the year. The expectations are big," Estephan said. 

Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org