https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzUJirDOzMM
Gennady Golovkin looked nothing short of sensational when he scored an 8th round TKO against the brave but overmatched David Lemieux on Saturday night in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden. Golovkin was running on all cylinders. He dictated the pace of the fight with a snappy jab, and did an impeccable job at controlling the distance and maintaining optimal range. It was Golovkin’s 21st knockout victory in a row, a true testament to his extraordinary power.
Despite his great display of boxing prowess, there was one moment nearing the end of the 5th round when an overexcited Golovkin dropped Lemieux with a body shot, after a delayed reaction, and he clipped his helpless downed opponent with a menacing blow. Should Golovkin have been disqualified for his illegal act?
History seems to suggest that he should have been disqualified. If you look at similar instances that have occurred in the past – like when Roy Jones Jr battled Montell Griffin in their first encounter, or when Sakio Bika bludgeoned a helpless Jean-Paul Mendy, or when Arthur Abraham blasted a fallen Andre Dirrell in group stage 2 of the Super Six Boxing Classic – in every similar instance, the fighter who clobbered his fallen foe was disqualified. Not so in the case of Golovkin vs Lemieux, however. Golovkin was not disqualified. He was not given a point deduction (or even arguably 2 points deducted). He was not even given a warning, and worst of all, Lemieux was given no time to recover, which at the very least should have been granted to him under the dual-assault he had just received, both legal and illegal.
This edition of Rummy’s Corner explores this theme, using a video comparison of all of the aforementioned instances which shared eerily similar circumstances. We also look to the future and ponder what might be next for the exciting middleweight powerhouse who HBO seems very eager to transform into a crossover superstar.