Lemieux did appear to be a better fighter, or perhaps, a wiser one, in his next bout. He captured the NABF middleweight belt by starching Fernando Guerrero in less than 10 minutes. He followed that up by beating up Hassen N’Dam N’Jikam to capture a world middleweight title in 2014.
He called out the best fighter in the division, Gennady Golvkin, and got his wish in 2015. Golvkin respected Lemeiux’s power but little else. He floored Lemeiux in the fifth round and dominated before the referee called a halt to the contest in round eight.
Lemieux (38-3, 33 Kos) has won four in a row since being stopped by Golovkin. Some still question his conditioning. Even though he brutally knocked out Curtis Stevens last year, he looked a little a winded, and worse, slightly chubby.
Saunders noted this apparent lack of dedication on Lemieux’s part.
“David Lemieux is eight-round boxer, “Saunders to the Montreal Journal. “He’s not good enough to be part of the elite of our division. He climbed to the top, but he failed.”
Lemieux disputes this, of course. As he said in his twitter account, “Having the best training camp of my career. Fight night soon, can’t wait.” Lemieux will be in shape, but will it good enough? The hometown advantage is his, but Saunders has the faster hands and feet. Lemeiux does have one other edge over Saunders--raw power. His plan is simple.
“If the fight demands me chasing you, (Saunders) I will chase you" said Lemieux. “If the fight demands me to go toe-to-toe, I will. On December 16, I promise that I won’t leave the Place bell without the belt. Let’s get it on.”
Saunders is hardly impressed.
“I’m looking at this as a breakthrough fight,” Saunders told www.FighttHype.com. “Let’s face it, if I can’t beat David Lemieux what chance do I have to beat Canelo and Golovkin? Zero.”
In a sense this is a classic match-up of the boxer versus the slugger. Lemieux will likely try to get Saunders out of there early. Saunders will look to out-box and frustrate Lemieux, testing his stamina. Can he avoid Lemieux’s power for 12 full rounds?
We’ll find out this Saturday.