This weekend sees HBO Boxing bring 2017 to a close with a Middleweight title fight as WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders (25-0; 12 KO) defends against David Lemieux (38-3; 33 KO). Ring Magazine ranks Lemieux as the division’s #3 contender, with Saunders at #4. The fight will air live on HBO this Saturday, December 16 with a fight time of 9:40 p.m. ET.
How do these two stack up?
Saunders: 28 years old | 5’11” | ??” reach | southpaw stance
Lemieux: 28 years old | 5’9″ | 70″ reach | orthodox stance
What have these two done recently?
Saunders: W – Willie Monroe Jr. (UD) | W – Artur Akavov (UD) | W – Andy Lee (MD)
Lemieux: W – Marcos Reyes (UD) | W – Curtis Stevens (KO) | W – Cristian Rios (UD)
How did these two get here?
Billy Joe Saunders is an undefeated champion from England, and holds the only piece of the Middleweight pie not in the hands of either Canelo or GGG. He won that title from Andy Lee two years ago and has been… fine as champion. Not bad, not great. Just fine. This is his third defense, and neither previous defense has been impressive. Saunders is a good technical fighter, and the kind of smart tactician who can never be written off. What he lacks is big power, and also, seemingly, stamina. Against Lee, Saunders faded considerably as the fight went on. He has the tools to win here, but also has something to prove.
David Lemieux rose to prominence for many US fans with his 2015 PPV showdown with Gennady Golovkin. That fight didn’t go his way, but hey, it was GGG, and it usually doesn’t go your way when he’s across the ring. Lemieux is 4-0 since. Always a powerful puncher who has been lauded for those skills for many years now, Lemieux reminded fans of that power earlier this year with a dramatic KO of the Year contender of Curtis Stevens on HBO. That’s a must-see moment in 2017, and he is looking to build on it here. Lemieux tends to fight most frequently in his home of Quebec, and this fight is no different.
What can fans expect?
I feel like an analysis of this fight has to focus on the 3 Lemieux losses. He lost a pair back to back in 2011, then the GGG fight in 2015. And it’s easy to look at those and see that Lemieux is beatable, especially compared to the unblemished record of Saunders. But the real story behind those losses is that each time, Lemieux came back stronger. In particular, since the Golovkin fight, he’s shown an ability to be more patient and technical – looking for that massive power shot KO, but not forcing it. That’s what I expect here. Saunders will surely play a careful, risk-averse game here as he wants to avoid the firefight. In the past that would have spelled trouble for Lemieux, but in 2017, he’s prepared to go the distance, not land that one massive shot, and still point his way to the win. With the hometown edge for Lemieux, Saunders will probably need to get a very clear, convincing win to have the judges see it his way, and that doesn’t seem likely.
Prediction: David Lemieux, UD
Who should watch?
This main event will almost surely go on after UFC on Fox is done, and it should be a nice capper to the evening – a well-matched fight that has the potential to end in highlight reel KO at any moment. Check it out.