Fighters who dismiss Gennady "GGG" Golovkin as an opponent based on a lack of name recognition are running out of ammunition to fuel that argument.

Golovkin is slated to fight David Lemieux in a middleweight title unification bout at Madison Square Garden on October 17, and the pre-sale for this fire fight is breaking records, according to Boxing Scene. Already, 6,000 tickets have been sold, the fastest for an MSG boxing event in history.

Canelo-Cotto Winner Must Face Golovkin Next

"It's not a surprise, and we're thrilled tickets are going so fast for Golovkin vs. Lemieux at The Garden on October 17," MSG executive vice president Joel Fisher said. "Gennady has made a name for himself in New York. He has fought at The Garden four times and knocked out all four opponents. Between Golovkin and Lemieux they have a staggering 61 knockouts in 69 fights, and we're urging fans not to blink once the bell rings."

Golovkin has a 20-fight knockout streak going, and despite a rabid fan base, many name fighters such as WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, and super middleweight Andre Ward, have said that Golovkin needs to defeat top opponents to increase his value.

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Cotto's drawing power at The Garden is legendary, largely because of the enormous Puerto Rican population in New York City and their strong support of arguably Puerto Rican boxing's greatest product. But even Cotto has never sold at the rate Golovkin is selling at right now, so it's becoming more difficult to justify avoiding him for any reason other than his knockout power.

Cotto is in negotiations to fight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez this fall on pay-per-view, and the winner of that fight is being forced to face Golovkin next, or drop the belt. The snag in Cotto-Alvarez talks has been due to a rematch clause, but WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman was firm that Golovkin comes first.

"The winner must fight Gennady Golovkin, then after that they can do what they want."

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