Gennady Golovkin poised to replace Floyd Mayweather Jr. as boxing’s best

The leadership transition in boxing’s pound-for-pound rankings couldn’t be more dramatic.

Amid great skepticism that he’s left the sport for good, the announced retirement of defensive-minded and unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. elevates unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin to No. 1 in most corners.

World Boxing Assn. champion Golovkin (33-0, 30 knockouts) not only boasts a 91% knockout ratio, he’ll ride a streak of 20 consecutive stoppages to his Oct. 17 title unification bout against International Boxing Federation champion David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“It’s my dream, amazing,” Golovkin told reporters Tuesday at a news conference in Santa Monica. “My first pay-per-view … a big present for [the] people because we both have power. It’s going to be a street fight, old school.”

Training in Big Bear, Golovkin has worked “with a sparkle in his eye,” according to trainer Abel Sanchez, who said the enthusiasm is rooted in the fact Golovkin feels he finally has a true challenge in front of him.

“[Lemieux] feels ready for a fight like this. He’s a champion. He feels like a star [now], so he feels stronger,” Golovkin said. “He has good power. It’s a dangerous fight for me.

“Who’s stronger? Who’s smarter? Who’s the best in the division?”

Sanchez is confident that the boxing knowledge of a motivated Golovkin will determine the outcome.

“Everybody perceives this kid [Lemieux] as a big puncher. I don’t believe he’s a big puncher,” Sanchez said. “I think he’s more like George Foreman, more of a thumper. This [Golovkin] is a sharp puncher. Once he hits you, you stay hit.”

Golovkin said the strength of his punches and his chin are the result of strong boxing fundamentals.

“It’s not just my chin, it’s my discipline, timing,” Golovkin said. “I work on that. I don’t have extra power. This is boxing. Every step, every thing … it’s timing. This is style.”

Golovkin said he doesn’t pay attention to the mythical pound-for-pound talk.

“People understand … they like my style. I know my work, my job,” he said.

HBO noticed, placing the bout on pay-per-view little more than a month from Mayweather’s announced goodbye bout.

“We’ve noticed with Gennady’s fights that fans like excitement, action, knockouts — the opposite of what Floyd brought to the table,” Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler said. “That’s why we call Gennady the people’s champion. He provides value to the fans and excitement in the ring.”

Unlike Mayweather’s devotion to luxury cars, Golovkin rides to training camp in Sanchez’s eight-year-old SUV and says he’s happy with everything he has in life.

HBO’s Larry Merchant said starting a middleweight renaissance with Golovkin-Lemieux, with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Miguel Cotto to follow on Nov. 21, and Danny Jacobs-Peter Quillin on Dec. 5, is intriguing.

“It’s fascinating, and I want to see how it plays out. When you think of the great middleweights [Carlos] Monzon, [Marvin] Hagler, [Bernard] Hopkins — this is the opportunity for someone to define himself in our time. That’s a big deal,” Merchant said. “Each individual has a great narrative, and nobody’s sure how it’s all going to spin out … and this is the first shot fired in this campaign.”

“A big gun,” Loeffler interrupted, alluding to his fighter.

“His intelligent aggression, [knowing] the best defense is to hit the guy — it’s a change from what we’ve seen,” Merchant said. “Boxing is a sport, but it’s also entertainment, and the worst sin in entertainment is to bore people. The way Gennady approaches his fights, you can see he’s trying to make something happen, and that’s what people want to see. The highest form of the game is the guy who boxes as well as bangs. He’s a cerebral killer.”