Future opponents of Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin may have run out of excuses. Major fighters who brush him aside because he is allegedly "not a big draw" will have to eat their words.
Golovkin's middleweight unification bout with David Lemieux already broken the previous Madison Square Garden record by selling 6,000 of their admission tickets, disproving the allegation that Golovkin is not a "marquee" name.
"Fans have responded by showing their support for this show," Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions said. "We priced the tickets very reasonably and will put on a great show for them Oct 17. We have been trying to get another champion to fight GGG, and David Lemieux is the first to agree to risk his title, so we give him and Golden Boy a lot of credit."
Experts in boxing like Freddie Roach, coach of Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto-the other middleweight champion, said (via Opening Round) last June: "They're still building him. He's not a big ticket seller here (in America) yet. You have your choice of fighting two guys and so forth are you going to fight the guy who is going to make you more money? That's the guy you're usually going to go with; it's risk and reward."
The context of that remark was that GGG visited Roach in his gym and Pacquiao apparently did not recognize him. That's unlikely to happen now.
Experts predict a great fight and a real slugfest as two knockout artists take the ring. The overall record between the two is 67 wins and 61 knockouts. This won't be a dance like Mayweahter-Pacquiao. There will be a knockout.
Fight Saga picks Golovkin not only because he's undefeated, but also he has faced better opponents. Beating Lemieux will probably be his ticket against guys like Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez.
Meanwhile, another worthy draw in the undercard is probably worthy of a marquee itself. Flyweight world champion Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez, face Brian Viloria, the former unified titleholder in the former's third title defense.
"I know Brian Viloria is a great [former] champion and it will be a hard fight, but I am ready for the challenge," Gonzalez told ESPN on why he chose the "Hawaiian Punch." "I have faith that God will give me the strength to keep training and be able to give all my fans my best fight ever."
"I applaud Roman for accepting this fight," Viloria said. "Together we will give boxing fans something special -- something they can talk about for a very long time."