David Lemieux ready to take next step
David Lemieux is edging closer and closer to superstar status.
The 21-year-old fighter, charismatic and Francophone, recently toppled Hector Camacho Jr. in one round at the Bell Centre in Montreal, where he already boasts a large number of fans in the boxing community.
Lemieux (24-0, 23 KOs), good as he is, wasn’t supposed to beat Camacho in one round. While he was expected to take out the one-time prospect, it was thought that Camacho would use his experience and ring antics to frustrate Lemieux for some rounds, before
succumbing to the latter’s power.
Instead, Lemieux caught the sly Camacho with a short left that had him in la-la land. After stumbling to the canvas he tried to get up, only to fall like a sack of potatoes.
In an interview with Dan Rafael, trainer Russ Anber was clear to indicate that the education of Lemieux is not all physical. It entails familiarizing him with the history of boxing, which will presumably grant him the grace of the by-gone greats.
"He [Lemieux] never jumps in the air and goes crazy—he just walks to the neutral corner after the knockouts," Anber said. He knows; he’s trained Lemieux since he was nine. “He's a kid I've tried to teach about the history of boxing, and he has the deadpan
look of Joe Louis. He doesn't go crazy with a big celebration. Maybe he'll go up on the ring ropes after the fight to salute the fans, but that's about it. I like that."
Yvon Michel, Lemieux’s promoter, has confirmed that the win has launched the fighter into new territory as a rising force. Despite already being ranked No.4 by the WBA and No.3 by the WBC, Michel said Lemieux would be hedging lesser competition at this
point and going for the big fights.
Michel has already pencilled in Lemieux’s next two fighting dates, both of which are guaranteed to appear on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.” But afterwards, the sky’s the limit: “We're trying to secure a title eliminator for February, and Russ told us after
the April 8 fight he will be ready for anybody," Michel said. "We want to go after the champion, big time: Sergio Martinez, Paul Williams, whoever. We believe we will continue to build his [Lemieux’s] popularity and convince HBO or Showtime to get on board
with us."
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