By Jake Donovan

From the moment he brought his act stateside, Gennady Golovkin has longed for a title unification fight in the middleweight division.

The unbeaten knockout artist from Kazakhstan first claimed an interim title in 2010 but was granted full title status when it was realized that then-reigning titlist Felix Sturm (and unified titlist Daniel Geale after his Sept. '12 unification win over Sturm) wasn't going to fight him.

Now 14 title defenses into his reign, Golovkin (33-0, 30KOs) faces another fellow champion the ring. Three major belts will be at stake in his October 17 showdown with David Lemieux at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"When we first announced the fight and were doing interviews, a reporter asked in one word how do you describe the fight; I said, 'Finally'," recalled Tom Loeffler, managing director of K2 Promotions. "Finally, someone... another champion is willing to get in the ring with Gennady Golovkin.

"I have to give David Lemieux a lot of credit for that."

Also at stake is a guaranteed crack at the winner of the November 21 World middleweight championship between Miguel Cotto and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, which will be contested at a maximum catchweight of 155 lbs. Golovkin secured mandatory status with a 2nd round knockout of Marco Antonio Rubio last October, but has spent the past year fielding a variety of reasons as to why he hasn't yet received his shot.

While such a fight is mandated for the winners of each upcoming middleweight clash, neither Golovkin nor Lemieux seem concerned about such a clash validating what they already believe to be true. So much, that neither side felt compelled to have a rematch clause inserted into the contract for their fight, which will be fought at the full 160 lb. limit.

"The winner of October 17 will be the best middleweight champion in the world. It's that simple," Loeffler insists.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox