20 little-known facts about Gennady Golovkin

12. Golovkin made middleweight history in his win over David Lemieux

When Gennady Golovkin sold out Madison Square Garden for his middleweight unification fight with then-IBF champion and hellacious puncher David Lemieux, he made history by surpassing Carlos Monzon’s 14 consecutive title defenses at 160 pounds. Now, a handful of fights later, Golovkin is closing in on Bernard Hopkins’ division record of 20.

Golovkin-Lemieux may have been a relative dud at the box office with just over 150,00 Pay-Per-View buys, but it represented a necessary evolution in the marketing of Triple G. Moreover, the fight still holds up as Golovkin’s most thoroughly dominant performance against arguably his most dangerous foe at the time; Lemieux is undoubtedly flawed, but few fighter possess his brand of vicious power.

Early in the fight, Golovkin worked behind an educated and powerful left jab, methodically disrupting Lemieux’s rhythm and preventing the power-punching Canadian from getting within range. From there, Golovkin dissected Lemieux, dropping him in round five with a hellacious body shot (followed by an illegal punch, but never mind) and forcing the referee to intervene three stanzas later after a barrage of blows following another menacing hook downstairs.

Golovkin leapfrogging the great Monzon with the kind of performance he produced against Lemieux was fitting. It’s also worth noting that all of Monzon’s three career losses came prior to his middleweight title reign. If Gennady Golovkin can also end his career undefeated in championship fights at 160 pounds — given his looming bout against Canelo Alvarez, as well as future prospects — it will rightfully secure his place as one of the truly great contemporary fighters.