“It’s going to be a war. I know he’s going to come to fight. He might break my nose, but I’m going break his too,” David Lemieux told ESPN.

Gennady Golovkin against David Lemieux is an explosive encounter. Neither fighter is inclined to take a back step. Both possess phenomenal punching power. Avert your eyes for a split second and the clash may have ended. This is the sweet science at its brutalising best. The two champions will meet on October 17th at Madison Square Garden.

Not only is it an exciting match-up, this is a genuine unification bout, something fans are not treated to enough. GGG holds the WBA middleweight title and Lemieux recently picked up the IBF version after a decision win against Hassan N’Dam, in which Lemieux dropped his opponent four times.

With 33 victories, no losses and 30 KO’s Gennady Golovkin ought to be confident of adding another victim to his record and becoming the unified champion. But Lemieux illustrates something new for GGG. With the Canadian sure to fire bombs at Golovkin from the opening bell he may expose himself for an early slaughter or connect one of his heavy shots on GGG’s chin. Golovkin has never been down in his career but if anyone was to change that it would be Lemieux.

Golden Boy Promotions, headed by Oscar De La Hoya, and Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) deserve great credit for taking this fight. They could have opted for a mandatory defence in order to keep that gold for a longer period but they wanted the best fighter available. It is a sign of Lemieux’s confidence. This fight represents the definition of how we want boxing to be- combatants not taking the easy route and determined to face the greatest and aim for glory.

Because GGG also has an interim belt the winner of this contest between him and Lemieux will be the mandatory challenger for the victor of Saúl Álvarez and Miguel Cotto.

For so many reasons, this fiery unification battle between knock out kings Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux is one all boxing fans should take a keen interest in.