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Cloutier's Canada Corner
David Lemieux: "With Two
Healthy Arms
I Would Certainly Beat Saunders"
By Daniel Cloutier
MONTRÉAL - The Montrealer middleweight David Lemieux is
extremely disappointed from the result of his fight with the
British southpaw Billy Joe Saunders, but discouraged? Not at
all! Lemieux (38-4-0) has the conviction he will back on the
winning track and become back world champion before the end
of 2018.Saturday evening in the ring of the Bell Place in
Laval, a northern suburb of Montréal, Lemieux, a former IBF
champion of the world, lost by unanimous decision in 12
rounds this WBO 160 pounds world championship bout. Saunders
(26-0-0) promised to his fans to return in England with the
WBO belt in his luggage, and he kept his promise. Saunders
won by decisive scores of 120-108, 118-110 and 117-111.
“Yes, I am very disappointed by this result, but not
discouraged at all,” said Lemieux Wednesday afternoon in a
press conference held at the Bell Place. “I am positive I
will be very strong and productive in 2018. I am positive I
will become back world champion before the end of 2018. I
will work like hell to reach my goal.”
In the next days, Lemieux will see a doctor in a Montréal
hospital to know exactly what’s wrong with his left
shoulder. In the second round of this bout with Saunders,
Lemieux injured seriously his left shoulder, an injury which
prevented him to use his jab.
“Since I am working with my trainer Marc Ramsay in the gym
(since 2012), I am using more than ever my jab, and these
jabs are helping me so much to prepare my destructive
attacks,” said Lemieux. “However, Saturday, I was unable to
jab because I could not use my left shoulder after the first
round. The pain was terrible. Saunders got a very good
performance, he deserved the win in the circumstances, but I
am sure I would beat him with two shoulders in perfect
health. This injury affected all my moves and my
concentration. I got the same kind of injury when I faced
the Mexican Marco Reyes last May in Las Vegas. I won that
fight with only one hand. I will certainly do the necessary
to cure totally my left shoulder. I am very impatient to see
the doctor and know what’s the problem with this shoulder.”
Ramsay said: “Saunders got the perfect strategy to win in
the circumstances. He was moving constantly from left to
right and right to left in the ring, to prevent David to
deliver destructive attacks. I know that a David Lemieux in
perfect health would cut the ring and force Saunders to
exchange punches in the ropes and the corners. The result
would be so different. David will take the time necessary to
cure his left shoulder, but this time, we will know exactly
what is the real problem with this his shoulder. The doctor
will tell us. If we need to do special exercises to make his
left shoulder stronger, trust me, will do it. And I am sure
that Lemieux will be enthusiast to do special exercises to
make his left shoulder stronger than ever.”
Lemieux will take an IRM to determinate the exact nature of
the injury.
Camille Estephan, the Lemieux’s manager, organized this HBO
Saturday evening boxing show in parternship with the
Lemieux’s promoter, the former world champion Oscar De La
Hoya, the promoter of Golden Boy Promotions in Los Angeles.
“We were extremely sad after this boxing show, and it’s
normal in the circumstances,” said Estephan. “We were so
confident to see David Lemieux win this WBO middleweight
championship of the world. But we know that Lemieux will
come back strong in 2018. He is so determinate to become
back world champion. The main thing will be to cure
perfectly his left shoulder.”
A boxing writer asked to Lemieux if he is thinking to move
up in the super middleweight (168 pounds) division.
“Absolutely not…” said Lemieux, Ramsay and Estephan in the
same time.
Another boxing writer asked to Lemieux what he would prefer:
a rematch with Saunders or a rematch with Gennady Golovin?
“Certainly a rematch with Golovkin,” said Lemieux. “Golovkin
is a great boxer, and he is also a natural fighter, not a
mover-runner like Saunders. As you know, I like to face
fighters, not runners…”
Lemieux won the IBF middleweight championship of the world
in June 2015 at Bell Centre in Montréal, in beating the
French African Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (36-3-0) by unanimous
decision. However, in October the same year, Lemieux
challenge Golovkin (37-0-1) in an unification of the IBF and
WBA middleweight world championships, at Madison Square
Garden in New York, and he lost the bout by TKO in the eight
round.
“Golovkin is one of the best fighters pound for pound in the
world, but I would love to get a rematch with him,” said
Lemieux. “I am sure that in a rematch, I would not commit
the same mistakes I did in October 2015 in New York. I am
certainly a more mature fighter than I was in 2015. The only
thing I want now, is to be able to fight with two shoulders
in perfect health.”
Lemieux will be 29 years old in few days.
“I mentioned to Camille Estephan and Oscar De La Hoya that I
am planning to still active in the ring for the next five or
six years, then, I have plenty of time to achieve what I
want to achieve. But like I said, my ambition is to become
back world champion before the end of the 2018, and I really
believe I will achieve it.”
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