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Cloutier’s Canada Corner
David Lemieux: "I Want To
Demolish N’Jikam"
By Daniel Cloutier
MONTRÉAL —— The Montrealer David Lemieux is one of the most
powerful punchers in the middleweight division, and he is
determined to use his power from the beginning to the end
June 20th in the ring of the Bell Centre in Montréal.
Lemieux (33-2-0) will have the first world championship bout
of his career. He will face the French African Nissan N’Dam
N’Jikam (31-1-0) in a IBF vacant middleweight championship
of the world.
“I saw many times his fight with Peter Quillin, said
Lemieux. He showed a great determination that night, but he
showed that his chin is fragile. He went on the floor six
times that night. Trust me, my power and my resistance will
force N’Jikam to live a terrible evening in Montréal. I am
determined to demolish him progressively, and beat him by
KO. Against Quillin in 2012 at the Barclays Centre in
Brooklyn, N’Jikam survived to six knockdowns, but he won’t
have the same chance against me. When I connect on him
several times with my power shots, he will go down, and stay
on the floor.”
N’Jikam said he was not in shape when he fought Quillin. He
said he got only three weeks of preparation. “ I know one
thing: he said many times he is in perfect shape to face me,
said Lemieux. Good! When I knock him out, he will be unable
to explain it by a lack of preparation…”
And if the fight goes deep, what will happen? “If the bout
is long, N’Jikam will certainly get an ugly face in the last
rounds, said Lemieux. I want to chase him in every round and
hurt him each time I connect. I know he has speed and
mobility, I know he is a pretty good puncher, but I really
believe he won't resist 12 rounds to my power shots and my
intensity.”
Lemieux said he is more than satisfied of the work he did
during his training camp. “In my training camp, we worked a
lot to increase my resistance and intensity, said Lemieux. I
know I will have the energy to attack intensively in each
round. The key will be to hurt him many times. The more he
will suffer, the more he will become vulnerable.”
When we asked him if he thinks he is biggest puncher of the
middleweight (160 pounds division), Lemieux said: “Difficult
to say, because I never faced Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto
and Saul Canelo Alvarez, who have all the reputation to be
explosive punchers. However, I know my power is one of my
crucial weapons, and I am using it each time I go in the
ring. It won’t be different June 20th.”
N’Jikam mentioned to French journalists that Lemieux will be
so nervous for his first participation to a world
championship bout June 20th, that he will make a lot of
technical mistakes… mistakes which put him in serious
trouble.
“N’Jikam can believe the pressure will play against me, I
just don’t care, said Lemieux. The pressure is normal in
crucial fights, and I love to live this pressure. The more
the pressure is high, the more I am concentrated on my work
to do in the ring, and the more I am performing. If N’Jikam
believes seriously I will make a lot of technical mistakes,
he is dreaming. He will be the one who will make mistakes
with the constant pressure I will put on him. He thinks I am
not mature enough to face a fighter like him. He will have
the surprise of his life when the first bell will ring. I
will be the master of the action, from the beginning to the
end. I want to give a big gift to my fans: finishing the
bout with my hands in the air… when N’Jikam will be on the
floor for the count of 10…!”
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