By John J. Raspanti
David Lemieux doesn’t like trash talkers.
He made that abundantly clear Saturday night when he knocked out chatterbox Curtis Stevens in the third round at the Turning Point Resort and Casino in Verona, NY.
As Stevens languished on the ropes, Lemieux let fly with a strong right hand that partially connected. Stevens tried to counter, but Lemieux’s left hook landed first—sending the New York native to dreamland.
In a scary scene, Stevens didn’t move for a number of minutes. He did signal to his team he was alright while being removed from the ring on a stretcher.
The time was 1:59 seconds of round three.
“I told you what I was gonna do tonight,” said Lemieux in the ring. “And I did it. It was a perfect combination. I hope he’s healthy and everything is good.”
The fighters wasted no time getting at each other in the opening round. Lemieux, the former IBF middleweight champion, landed a huge right hand that staggered Stevens.
Stevens came back strong in round two. He connected with a number of shots to the head. A big left hook to the gut seemed to hurt Lemieux. A right hand made Lemieux blink, but by the end of the round it was Lemieux who was landing the more powerful blows.
Stevens did well at times in round three, but Lemieux carries with him the great equalizer.
Power.
The victory was the third knockout in a row for Lemieux (37-3, 33 KOs) since being stopped by three-belt champion Gennady Golovkin in 2015. Lemieux desires another go with Golovkin.
Bad idea.
The 32-year-old Stevens lost for the sixth time in his career.
Lemieux looked a little soft in the middle, but denied after the bout that he wasn’t in tip-top shape.
True or not, Lemieux and his game-changing power is always dangerous.
Pass the doughnuts.