Photo by Vincent Ethier
The Middleweight division officially has a new player.
After scoring four knockdowns against a relentless Hassan N’Dam (31-2, 18 KOs), David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) scored a 12-round unanimous decision victory to win the vacant IBF Middleweight title at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The fight headlined a night of boxing on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Deportes, and marked Lemieux’s official entrance into the list of 160-pound titleholders that include Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin and Andy Lee.
Lemieux, 26, wasted no time in his assault, and began walking N’Dam down from the first second of the first round, while N’Dam, 31, sought to establish his jab as he moved around the ring.
Lemieux landed a big left to end the round that N’Dam took well, but it was another left hook in Round 2 that knocked N’Dam down hard.
N’Dam spent the rest of the round holding on for dear life—sometimes clinching, sometimes blocking an overwhelming assault from the Montreal-born puncher.
By Rounds 3 and 4, N’Dam seemed to have recovered from the early knockdown, and began landing looping right hands around Lemieux’s guard followed by several jabs that snapped his head back.
However, the native of Cameroon’s boxing skills could not prevent him from being knocked down two times in Round 5, both caused by left hooks.
The left hook made yet another appearance in Round 7, and N’Dam surprisingly survived the fourth knockdown of the night.
If there was anything to be more impressed by than Lemieux’s left hook, it was N’Dam’s resilience in the face of such a punishing assault.
Indeed, in Rounds 9 and 10, N’Dam would come back–seemingly from the utter depths of Hades itself–to outbox Lemieux, using a combination of footwork, right hands and jabs thrown from his hip.
In the final two rounds, however, Lemieux would regain control and get the better out of their final exchanges, winning with scores of 115-109, 115-109, and 114-110. RBRBoxing.com also scored it for Lemieux, with a score of 116-108.
Lemieux is now the proud owner of his first world title, while N’Dam suffers the second defeat of his career.
What’s Next for the 160-Pound Machine Gun?
Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
As for Lemieux’s future fights, there are many to be made.
WBO titleholder Andy Lee is scheduled to face his mandatory challenger, Billy Joe Saunders, in September.
Miguel Cotto, who is fresh off his knockout win over Daniel Geale, is also a possibility, as he holds the WBC and lineal crowns.
At the top of this 160-pound food chain, however, is Gennady Golovkin who, despite not holding the lineal title, has proved to be the more dominant fighter in the division.
And then there’s the wildcard: a 24-year-old redhead from Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico, whose star power is growing every year, but who is still six pounds under the Middleweight division.
A fight with Canelo Alvarez may be a longshot as Alvarez is adamant that he will continue to fight at Junior Middleweight unless a fight with Cotto materializes, but I wouldn’t rule a fight Lemieux out just yet.
Still, one thinks that Lemieux’s popularity can still be built in the United States, and so a fight with any of the aforementioned fighters may have to wait until next year.
What do our readers think? Who’s next for Lemieux? How does he do against the other titleholders?
Let us know in the comments section below.
