Though Canelo Alvarez and Rocky Fielding both made weight for tomorrow night’s WBA 168 pound title fight in New York, former IBF middleweight ruler David Lemieux was not able to do the same. As reported by RingTV.com, the Canadian power-puncher was hospitalised due to dehydration, his efforts at making the 160 pound limit for his scheduled fight with Tureano Johnson proving too much.
Lemieux, big for the weight, has fought above the 160 pound limit before and a permanent move up to 168 was often spoken of. In light of what happened at today’s weigh-in, that move certainly has to be taken. As per a statement from his management team, Lemieux is now hooked up to an IV to re-hydrate, and he is undergoing a battery of tests. Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy stated how the safety and health of a fighter is paramount and that he wishes Lemieux a speedy recovery.
The cancellation of the Lemieux-Johnson fight is quite a bad blow to tomorrow’s card, what with the exciting banger pulling in a good deal of fans – fans who may give tomorrow’s DAZN show a miss now. In other bad news, unbeaten hot prospect Vergil Ortiz has also been pulled from the card, due to the New York state rule that says no fighter who has undergone Lasik eye surgery is permitted to fight.
With the cancellation of these two fights, the Tevin Farmer-Francisco Fonseca IBF 140 pound title fight has been elevated to the chief supporting bout. Female sensation Katie Taylor is also in action, along with Sadam Ali, Ryan Garcia, Lamont Roach Junior, Bilal Akkawy and Yves Uylsse.
The weights for the Canelo Vs. Fielding fight were as follows: Fielding tipped-in at 167.6 pounds and challenger Canelo, in his debut at super-middleweight, came in at 167.4 pounds. Despite weighing more than he has at any other time in his career, Canelo looked great at the weight; both solid and toned. Fielding has clearly worked hard for this, by far and away the biggest fight of his entire career. Fielding holds considerable height and reach advantages over the Mexican superstar.
For now though, let’s all hope David Lemieux makes a full recovery and leaves hospital in good health.
