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Cloutier’s Canada Corner
Saunders: "I Entered Canada
With My WBO Belt, And I Will Return To England With It..."
By Daniel Cloutier
Photo: Vincent Ethier - Eye of the Tiger Management
MONTRÉAL - The situation is very clear in the British Billy
Joe Saunders mind: he entered on the Canadian territory with
his WBO belt…. and he gonna return in England with this
belt. Saturday evening in the ring of the Bell Place in
Laval, a northern suburb of Montréal, Saunders (25-0-0) will
defend his WBO middleweight championship of the world
against the former IBF middleweight champion of the world,
the Montrealer David Lemieux (38-3-0). It will be a 12
rounds bout.
“It will be my first experience on the Canadian territory,
but I not worry at all,” said Saunders. “I entered on Canada
with my WBO belt… and I gonna return in England with it.
Lemieux said that his power will make the difference in this
bout, but on my side, I believe that my speed and technique
will make the difference in this fight. I am perfectly
prepared for this challenge, I am in the best shape of my
career, then, I am impatient to be in the ring.”
Lemieux also said he is perfectly prepared for this event.
“Yes, my preparation is at the top, mentally, physically and
technically,” said the Montrealer. “Me too I am very
impatient to be in the ring. It will be my second world
championship bout in front of my fans, and it’s really
fantastic. I was dreaming since two years to get another
shot for a world title, then, I cannot be more happy of this
situation.”
Lemieux won his first title, the IBF belt, in June 2005 in
Montréal, when he beat the French African Hassan N’Dam
N’Jikam (36-3-0) by unanimous decision. However, in October
of the same year, he lost by TKO in the eight round against
Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1) in an unification of the IBF and
WBA 160 pounds world titles.
A boxing writer asked to Lemieux in French: “David, is it a
problem for you the fact that Saunders is a southpaw?”
Lemieux answered: “Absolutely not. I trained with several
southpaws in the last months and I am ready for Saunders. If
Saunders believes he will have an easy game with me, by the
fact he is a southpaw, he will have a huge surprise when the
fight will start.”
The same writer asked him: “David, Saunders is talking about
an unification titles bout after this match up with you. Do
you consider this remark as a lack of respect for you?”
Lemieux answered: “Yes, but I don’t care. Saunders will
learn to respect me in the ring…”
When a writer asked to Saunders what he thinks about
Lemieux, he said: “I know Lemieux is a strong puncher, and
he likes to repeat it himself, but like I said, I know I
have the weapons necessaries to win this bout and stay WBO
middleweight champion of the world.”
Lemieux’s trainer, Marc Ramsay, is clearly confident to see
his fighter become back world champion. “David is extremely
motivated to become back world champion, and trust me, he
got a fantastic preparation,” said Ramsay. :When I see a
David so motivated, so hungry, I know his fans will see him
at his best in the ring. Like David, I am extremely
impatient to see what will happen Saturday evening.”
In French, Lemieux’s manager, who is also the promoter of
The Eye Of The Tiger Management Group in Montréal, Camille
Estephan, said: “I maintained that it will be a historic
event for the Canadian boxing. We will present four
championships bouts, including a WBO world championship
fight. I cannot remember a local boxing show of this
amplitude. We are very happy to work in partnership with
Golden Boy Promotions and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya for
this event, and extremely happy to have HBO with us. I can
confirm that the last three bouts of the evening will be
televised by HBO.”
Just before the main event, the fight Lemieux-Saunders,
Antoine Douglas (22-1-1), from Virginia State, will fight
the Irish Gary O’Sullivan (26-2-0) for the WBO middleweight
InterContinental championship, and the Montrealer super
lightweight Yves ULysse Jr (14-1-0) will meet the New Yorker
Cletus Seldin (21-0-0).
The two others championships bouts will involved Custio
Clayton (12-0-0), a fighter from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who
is living in Montréal since three years, and Ryan Garcia
(12-0-0), from Victorville, California. Clayton will
challenge Carlos Molina (28-8-2), from Chicago, for the WBO
welterweight international championship, and Garcia will
face the Mexican Noe Martinez Raygoza (23-9-2) in an NABF
super featherweight North American championship.
Estephan and De La Hoya will present a total of 12 bouts
next Saturday. The show will start at 5.00 PM.
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