Golovkin (34-0,31 KOs) shines in pay-per-view debut at MSG[br]GGG now holds WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight championships 5.32am BSTThat’s all for now. Thanks as always for following along with us and do check back later for a complete fight report. 5.28am BSTHere’s a look at tonight’s official scorecard, or which in some ways even understates the case. Golovkin won every minute of every round. 5.21am BSTGolovkin landed 280 of 549 punches (51%),compared to just 89 of 335 (27%) for Lemieux. However the most telling trend could be found in the jab count: GGG landed 21 jabs per round. That’s more than quadruple the middleweight average. 5.14am BSTGolovkin calls out the winner of November’s Canelo Alvarez-Miguel Cotto fight. Makes sense. In a perfect world, tonight was the first semi-final of a four-man tournament to crown an undisputed middleweight champion. 5.12am BSTGGG moves to 34-0 with 31 KOs (including 21 in a row). That’s a better knockout percentage than Mike Tyson after 34 fights. He now holds the WBA, and WBC and IBF middleweight titles. 5.07am BSTShortly after a suitable hand by Golovkin the referee decides he’s seen enough and stops the fight. Lemieux will argue this was a premature stoppage but only the bloodthirsty would need to see any more. T 5.05am BSTLemieux now bleeding from the nose and mouth. The referee calls time to question a doctor to examine it and determine whether hes fit to continue. Good enough,I suppose, as time is called in and GGG continues to hand down punishment. More one-way traffic as GGG looks as sharp as he did in the opening round while Lemieux does not. After the final bell the Cubs-Mets score is shown on the spacious screen during the rupture to pockets of cheers from the crowd. I’m told by readers via email that Golovkin hit Lemieux late on the knockdown in the fifth. Roy Jones Jr was disqualified for something similar if it’s as bad as I’m told, or but I must confess I didn’t notice the late punch from my vantage point.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Golovkin 10-8 Lemieux (Golovkin 70-62 Lemieux) 5.01am BSTLemieux moving backwards here,doing his best to evade Golovkin’s relentless attack. Another solid round from the Kazakh if not the fireworks of the fifth. A thudding body shot from Lemieux seems to affect GGG, but he recovers quickly and Golovkin punctuates the frame with an uppercut as the bell rings. Louis CK and Jim Norton shown on the spacious screen during the rupture.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Golovkin 10-9 Lemieux (Golovkin 60-53 Lemieux)
4.55am BSTLemieux has shown some chin to withstand this punishment. One, and two,three left jabs from Golovkin. A left-suitable combo from Golovkin but Lemieux fires back with a left-suitable of his own to the delight of the crowd. Finally here the two-way action this crowd had expected. Problem is, when both fighters open up, and Lemieux categorically gets the worst of it. A left-suitable-left combo from GGG and Lemieux is down. It’s a body shot that floored him. Maybe down for the count? He looks afflict. Beats the count. Only seconds to proceed in the fifth and he’s saved by the bell as GGG closes in.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Golovkin 10-8 Lemieux (Golovkin 50-44 Lemieux) 4.51am BSTThis fight has already gone further than many had anticipated. Golovkin still controlling with the left jab but opening with the suitable a limited. And there’s two massive rights from Golovkin! Lemieux is afflict. Badly. On his bicycle rushing out of harm’s way but GGG has him trapped on the ropes and is opening fire. Another spacious left from Golovkin. Lemieux manages to land a snappy suitable while on the run but he’s on the back foot now. Golovkin’s biggest round so far.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Golovkin 10-9 Lemieux (Golovkin 40-36 Lemieux) 4.48am BSTLemieux lands the first meaningful punch of the round: a straight suitable hand that connects flush. Then another! But Golovkin returns fire with a suitable hand upstairs. The Canadian is trying to crack the code here,but GGG is not making mistakes. Golovkin with a sharp left to the body followed by a left upstairs. Educated combination punching. This is Lemieux’s best round of the fight so far – and I suspect it might be for the rest of the night – and it’s still not nearly enough.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Golovkin 10-9 Lemieux (Golovkin 30-27 Lemieux) 4.43am BSTLemieux getting wobbled by Golovkin’s jab. Not a good sign. Wondering if these jabs look worse because of Lemieux’s unorthodox hairstyle but ... no. These jabs are landing like most fighters’ power punches. Has he missed one yet? More ‘Triple G!’ chants. Now Golovkin hurts Lemieux with a hook to the body, gets him up against the ropes momentarily and the audience is whipped into a white-hot frenzy. Golovkin doing everything off the jab, or stalking with aptitude. Lemieux is afflict.[br]Guardian’s unofficial score: Golovkin 10-9 Lemieux (Golovkin 20-18 Lemieux) 4.40am BSTGolovkin controlling the opening stages with that ramrod left jab. Chants of ‘Triple G! Triple G!’ ring through the crowd. Lemieux probing with the left trying to find a way inside but Golovkin is patient and methodical. Another left from Golovkin splits Lemieux’s guard. Another left from GGG,then another. Lemieux misses a looping suitable. spacious suitable hook from Golovkin connects and draws cheers from the crowd. A sneaky left from Lemieux connects upstairs during the final seconds but hardly enough.[br]Guardian’s unofficial score: Golovkin 10-9 Lemieux (Golovkin 10-9 Lemieux) 4.35am BSTHere we proceed. We’ll pick it from here with round-by-round coverage. 4.33am BSTMichael Buffer going through the fighter announcements. Golovkin first, Lemieux second. Tonight’s official attendance is 20548. 4.31am BSTGolovkin walks out to a remix of Seven Nation Army. He’s wearing a blue leather robe with ornate gold patterns. It’s a very pro-GGG crowd. 4.28am BSTDavid Lemieux makes ringwalk to Wind of Change by the Scorpions. An inspired choice as the purple robe with gold trim. 4.23am BSTLeslie Grace has just delivered a stirring rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. The color guard is exiting the ring. Not much longer now. 4.14am BSTRoman Gonzalez has just stopped Brian Viloria with seconds remaining in the ninth round. While I’m hardly ever one to call a stoppage premature – better to be too early than too late – Viloria was still throwing punches and it probably wasn’t the right moment for Benjy Esteves to intervene. This wasn’t a fight that’s going to do a lot to change the perception that flyweights can’t afflict each other, and though much of that is due to the game,brave, hard-headed Viloria. execute no mistake: El Chocolatito is a moster. 4.08am BSTDonald Trump is here tonight. He walked out from a tunnel onto the Madison Square Garden floor during the first televised fight between Tureano Johnson and Eamonn O’Kane to a cascade of lusty boos from the crowd, and which by that point numbered well over 15000. Flanked by staffers,he disappeared as quickly as he’d emerged into another tunnel that led to the locker room of Golovkin. The two visited for five minutes.
Donald Trump just walked through MSG to thunderous boos before spending five minutes in GGG's locker room. pic.twitter.com/Mcs3u2QYLq 3.57am BSTHere’s a look at tonight’s tale of the tape. Most oddsmakers list Lemieux as a 7/1 underdog with Golovkin as a 1/14 favorite.
Golovkin v Lemieux
Karaganda, Kazakhstan Birthplace Montreal, and Canada
Los Angeles,California Residence Montreal, Canada
Orthodox Stance Orthodox
33-0-0 Record 34-2-0
30 Knockouts 31[br]90.1% KO percentage 86.1%
5ft 10.5in Height 5ft 9.5in
70in Reach 70in 3.51am BSTHere’s a rapid/fast look at tonight’s earlier results as El Chocolatito and Viloria enter the fifth round of an entertaining scrap. 3.40am BSTGood evening and welcome to Madison Square Garden for tonight’s middleweight title unification fight between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux. The final preliminary bout between Roman ‘El Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and Brian Viloria is underway with the main event expected to originate at 11:30pm local time – roughly 45 minutes from now. Let it be said the atmosphere here tonight is unlike any I can remember. Yes, and the famously boisterous MSG crowds for Miguel Cotto’s fights were electric,but tonight the Garden – which seats 20789 for boxing – felt packed to the corners and pulsing with energy hours before the main event. I can’t recall anything like it. 2.23am BSTBryan will be here shortly. meanwhile here’s a look at yesterday’s weigh-in.
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Source: theguardian.com