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Cloutier's Canada Corner
Las Vegas Bookies
Established
Lemieux Favorite By 4-1
By Daniel Cloutier
Photos: Tom Hogan - Hoganphotos/Golden Boy
VERONA, NY - If the Las Vegas bookies are right, the
Montrealer middleweight David Lemieux will celebrate in his
corner after his fight Saturday evening in the ring of the
Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York State.
The bookies established Lemieux favourite by 4-1. Lemieux
(36-3-0) will face the New Yorker Curtis Stevens (29-5-0) in
a WBC Intercontinental championship and a WBO Americas
Continental championship. This bout will be televised by HBO.
Stevens and Lemieux are ranked respectively second and third
contenders by the WBC in the middleweight (160 pounds)
division. Stevens is also ranked eight contender by the WBA,
fifth by the IBF and 10th by the WBO. Lemieux is also ranked
sixth contender by the IBF and fourth by the WBO.
This 12 rounds bout, obviously, is crucial for the future of
both fighters.
“Stevens has a big mouth, he has absolutely no respect for
me, and trust me, he will pay the big price for this
attitude Saturday evening,” said Lemieux. “I will destroy
him. I will humiliate him. I will knock him out. I mentioned
it several times in the last weeks, I want to challenge the
biggest names of the middleweight division on the
international scene after this event, but actually, I have
only one thing in mind: kick the Stevens butt. I know I have
the power to hurt him in every rounds, and it’s exactly what
I gonna do. And I know i have now the technique to dominate
him. Stevens said he will surprise me? I have an answer for
him: good luck man! I will fight with a perfect
concentration from the beginning to the end of the bout, and
believe me, I will get out of the ring in the winning
shoes.”
Stevens looks confident… like his opponent. “Lemieux is not
realistic at all if he believes seriously he can beat me by
KO,” said Stevens. “I will be in the winner’s corner. And I
am positive I have the skills and the power to put him in
serious trouble. Lemieux is trying to intimidate me, but his
tactic will certainly failed. He said I have a big mouth?
When the fight will starts, my fists will talk…and talk
loudly. I know I have the talent, the desire, the
determination and the power to put him in trouble. I am
perfectly prepared mentally, physically, technically and
strategically for that bout, and watch me in action Saturday
evening. I won’t disappointed my fans.”
Marc Ramsay, the Lemieux’s trainer, is persuaded that his
fighter is ready for a war. “David got a perfect preparation
for this challenge, mentally, technically and strategically,
and I am positive he will impress you Saturday evening, said
Ramsay. David knows what to do against Stevens, a fighter
who always loose his concentration when the opponent hurts
him. David will connect Stevens with his power shots at the
right time in each round, and you will see the result. No
doubt in mind, my fighter will sign a great victory Saturday
evening. David is so motivated by this challenge.”
Lemieux and Stevens insulted each other when they were nose
to nose for the photographers at the weight in. Clearly,
they hate each other.
John David Jackson, Stevens trainer, obviously disagrees the
Marc Ramsay’s analyses. “Curtis trained very seriously for
this challenge, and he is clearly impatient to be nose to
nose with Lemieux in the ring,” said Jackson. “Curtis is a
fighter very mature, with a solid experience, and he is
determinate to live the biggest moments of his boxing career
in the months to come... starting Saturday evening. Lemieux
is a great puncher, certainly one of the 10 best punchers
pound for pound in the world, but Curtis will prove in this
fight that he is better technically than his opponent, and
he has the chin to take all the Lemieux’s power shots.”
At the weight in, supervised by the WBC and WBO championship
committees, Lemieux posted an official weight of 159 pounds,
versus 158.2 for Stevens.
In the most important preliminary bout of the evening, the
Cuban lightweight Yuriorkis Gamboa (25-1-0) will face Rene
Alvarado (24-7-0), from Nicaragua.
Before the bout Gamboa-Alvarado, the Montrealer super
lightweight Yves Ulysse Jr. (12-0-0) gonna fight Zachary
Ochoa (16-0-0), from Brooklyn, New York, in a NABF North
American championship. The winner of this fight should see
his name appears in the international ratings in the newt
two months.
The others preliminaries fights will involved the super
bantamweight Diego De La Hoya (18-0-0), from Mexico, the
super middleweight Dmitrius Ballard (15-0-0), from Temple
Hills, Maryland, the light heavyweight Todd Unthank May
(10-0-0), from Philadelphia, the lightweight Damon Allen
(10-0-1), also from Philadelphia, and the super welterweight
Alex Rincon (0-0-0), from Corollton, Texas.
De La Hoya will fight Roberto Pucheta (10-9-1), from Mexico,
Ballard will face Zoltan Sera (28-11-0), from Hungary, May
will be opposed to Quinton Rankin (12-3-1), from Charlotte,
North Carolina, Allen will challenge Adam Mate (24-10-0),
from Hungary, and Rincon will fight Shaun Lee Henson
(2-3-0), from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
At the weight in, Gamboa posted an official weight of 131
pounds, Alvarado 130.2, Ulysse Jr. 139.7 Ochoa 139.5, De La
Hoya 123, Pucheta 123.7, Ballard 168 , Sera 167.5 May 174,
Rankin 173.7 , Allen 135 Mate 135.5, Rincon 154.7 and
finally, Henson 154.7 pounds.
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