by James Slater – David Lemieux, one of the most talented and exciting of the sport’s current up-and-comers, is set to box again on the August 14th, Chad Dawson-Jean Pascal card in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The unbeaten 21-year-old, 23-0(22), last seen in June, when he was destroying the capable Elvin Ayala inside a single round on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights,” will be seen on HBO in August, against an as yet unannounced opponent..
Truly possessing brutal power in both hands, Lemieux, who was expected to be given a test by the usually durable Ayala (who had been halted just once before – in the 12th-round by Arthur Abraham), put on the type of power show that brought to mind Mike Tyson’s scary 1986 annihilation of Trevor Berbick. As was the case with “Iron Mike” in November of ’86, Lemiuex’s punches didn’t just put his man down, they left him totally disorientated to the extent that although he knew where he was, Ayala still could not locate his legs or any trace of his equilibrium.
And after putting on such a ruthless performance, fans everywhere, not just in his native Canada, are thirsty for more action from the man many see as a future world champion. Lemiuex will almost certainly face a decent, name opponent on August 14th. Being moved pretty fast, the exciting banger who has been a pro since April of 2007 took a step up in class against Ayala, and a bigger step up can be expected for next time.
The middleweight division could do with a new star right now. World ruler Sergio Gabriel Martinez is a great fighter and he is willing to mix it with anyone, but he hasn’t caught the attention of casual fans the way, say, Kelly Pavlik did. And with “The Ghost” now seemingly looking at moving up to 168-pounds, maybe Lemieux, with his own blend of power, raw aggression and speed, is the man to capture the imagination of casual fans of the 160-pound weight class the way the humble and well-liked Pavlik did.
It has been mentioned, by Ring.tv.com, how Lemieux has a noticeably short reach at just 64,” and this has led some experts to openly wonder if the 5’10.5″ warrior will come unstuck when he faces a classy boxer with such a big advantage in reach. So far, Lemiuex has had no trouble finding the chin of any of his 23 pro opponents, but could this change if he fought, for example, the main man at middleweight, Martinez – who has a reach of 76″? Such a fight is still a long way away for the 21-year-old and may never happen at all considering the southpaw ruler’s age of 35; but Lemiuex aspires to be the best, so we have to measure him against the best.
If he continues to go through opposition the way he has been thus far, a title shot will not be too long in coming; perhaps a shot at one of the alphabelt champions, such as Sebastian Sylvester or another Sebastian, in Zbik. Both these European fighters have some claim to being champions at middleweight (even though we all know Martinez is THE champ), and one day soon, if he keeps going as he’s going, Lemiuex could be challenging them. How would the short-armed bomber cope with either titlist?
It will be interesting to see who he’s matched with on August 14th, but it will be even more interesting to see how David Lemieux does when he inevitably climbs into the ring with a world champion. A new star could well be upon us.