David Lemieux (boxer)
| David Lemieux | |
|---|---|
 Lemieux in 2015 | |
| Statistics | |
| Rated at |
Light-middleweight Middleweight Super-middleweight |
| Height | 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in (1.77 m) |
| Reach | 70 in (178 cm) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Born |
December 22, 1988 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 37 |
| Wins | 34 |
| Wins by KO | 31 |
| Losses | 3 |
David Lemieux (born December 22, 1988) is a Canadian professional boxer[1] and former IBF middleweight champion.
Beginnings and personal life
Lemieux was born in Montreal, Quebec on the 22nd of December 1988 to a French father and Armenian mother, Aznive Khavloudjian. The couple divorced after having one son, the 2-year senior to David. David on the other hand was born after the departure of his father and he claims he has never seen his biological father.
His mother remarried to an Armenian, Garo Melekian who adopted the two children and became a mentor to David. Lemieux is a resident of Cartierville, a Montreal suburb, and studied at the local Saint-François-de-Laval school, but did not excel in classes spending most of time on the streets. He was eventually expelled from the school for street fights. Encouraged by his adoptive father to focus, he started training in Ring 83 located in Ahuntsic with the encouragement and guidance of Baha Laham, a successful Lebanese Canadian boxer, who is also a neighbour of Lemieux.
Lemieux has a son, Léon from a previous relationship, the mother later left to Moscow. A second child; a daughter, was born through another relationship. Lemieux speaks five languages: French, English, Armenian, Arabic and Spanish.[2][3]
Lemieux was managed for many years by Group Yvon Michel (GYM). Starting January 2015 he was managed by Camille Estephan, a Lebanese Canadian entrepreneur and promoter and owner of Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM).[4][5]
Amateur boxing career
Lemieux began boxing at the age of nine. He won the Canadian Amateur Championship three times.[6]
Lemieux is currently trained by Marc Ramsay. Previously, he was trained by Russ Anber and was featured with Anber in DVD tutorial series Title Boxing as a teenager. He also featured with Anber in the Rival Box tips series.
Lemieux was never interested in making a bid to join the Canadian Olympic boxing team which was woefully under-supported in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. Instead, he and Russ Anber viewed the Olympic program as a dead-end which would have him competing against boxers with vastly more experience while limiting his training prospects in ways detrimental to a fighter with professional aspirations.
Professional boxing career
Although Lemieux planned to turn pro at 17, he was required to wait until he turned 18 because of Canadian Boxing Federation rules.[6] Quebec-based promotion company Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) was quick to sign him to a multi-fight contract, pitting him against opponents in four-round bouts that quickly became crowd favorites in Montreal. Lemieux is now a proven commodity, fighting televised six-rounders on ESPN's Friday Night Fights and filling out the undercard during several championship events.
On April 8, 2011 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Lemieux was featured in the main event of ESPN's Friday Night Fights. His opponent was Marco Antonio Rubio, who came to the fight with a record of 49-5-1 (43 KOs). Lemieux was favored to win in his hometown against the Mexican veteran. During the first five rounds, Lemieux dominated Rubio by landing hard power punches to his guard. Rubio came to life in round six and began to land hard punches as Lemieux tired. In the seventh round, Rubio knocked down Lemieux with a right hook to the head. Lemieux got up, but Rubio continued where he left off and threw more punches at him. With only seconds left in round seven, Lemieux's corner had seen enough and threw in the towel to stop the fight. After the fight Anber said that Lemieux still has a lot to work and improve on if he wants to reach the top level.
In a huge upset, former world champion Joachim Alcine defeated Lemieux at the Bell Centre in Montreal, on December 10, 2011. Lemieux was quoted as a 5 to 1 favorite by the wagertrackers. The fight was declared a majority decision over 12 rounds, with scores of 116-112 by two judges and an even scoring of 114-114 by the third one. Alcine was awarded the WBC International Middleweight title. Most ringside observers thought Alcine won the fight.[7]
Since the Alcine fight, Lemieux fought six straight bouts against opponents of mostly middling relevance, before facing Fernando Guerrero, a former light middleweight and middleweight contender who had only a year prior fought WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin to a sixth round loss. Lemieux dominated Guerrero, repeatedly dropping him before finishing him off in the third round with a brutal right uppercut. His next bout would be against middleweight fringe contender Gabriel Rosado. Lemieux similarly dominated Rosado, dropping him in the third and pounding away at his mostly outmatched foe until the referee stopped the bout in the tenth due to swelling and cuts surrounding Rosado's eyes.
On June 20 2015, Lemieux fought Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam for the vacant IBF Middleweight Championship, again in Montreal. Lemieux scored four knockdowns en route to a victory by unanimous decision, setting up a showdown in October with currently unbeaten Gennady Golovkin, considered to be the best middleweight fighter in the world in 2015.[8]
Professional boxing record
| 34 Wins (31 knockouts, 3 decisions), 3 Losses (2 knockout, 1 decision), 0 Draws[9] | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| N/A |  James de la Rosa |
N/A | (12) | 2016-03-12 |  Olympia, Montréal, Québec |
||
| Loss | 34–3 |  Gennady Golovkin |
TKO | 8 (12) | 2015-10-17 |  Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York |
Lost IBF Middleweight title. For WBA (Super), IBO & interim WBC Middleweight titles. |
| Win | 34–2 |  Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam |
UD | 12 | 2015-06-20 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
Won vacant IBF Middleweight title. |
| Win | 33–2 | Gabriel Rosado |
TKO | 10 (12) | 2014-12-06 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York |
Retained NABF Middleweight title. |
| Win | 32–2 |  Fernando Guerrero |
KO | 3 (12) | 2014-05-24 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
Won NABF Middleweight title. |
| Win | 31–2 |  Jose Miguel Torres |
TKO | 7 (10) | 2013-11-30 | Pepsi Coliseum, Quebec City, Quebec |
|
| Win | 30–2 | Marcus Upshaw |
UD | 8 | 2013-09-28 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 29–2 |  Robert Swierzbinski |
TKO | 1 (8) | 2013-06-08 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 28–2 |  Albert Ayrapetyan |
TKO | 2 (10) | 2012-12-14 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 27–2 | Álvaro Gaona |
KO | 1 (10) | 2012-10-12 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 26–2 | Jaudiel Zepeda |
KO | 2 (8) | 2012-06-08 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Loss | 25–2 | Joachim Alcine |
MD | 12 | 2011-12-10 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
Lost WBC International Middleweight title. |
| Loss | 25–1 | Marco Antonio Rubio |
TKO | 7 (12) | 2011-04-08 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
WBC Middleweight Title Eliminator. |
| Win | 25–0 | Purnell Gates |
TKO | 2 (10) | 2010-12-03 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 24–0 |  Héctor Camacho, Jr. |
KO | 1 (12) | 2010-10-29 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
Retained WBC International Middleweight title. |
| Win | 23–0 | Elvin Ayala |
KO | 1 (12) | 2010-06-11 | Uniprix Stadium, Montreal, Quebec |
Won vacant WBC International Middleweight title. |
| Win | 22–0 |  Walid Smichet |
KO | 2 (10) | 2010-04-03 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
Retained Canada Super Middleweight title. |
| Win | 21–0 | Jason Naugler |
UD | 10 | 2010-02-06 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
Won vacant Canada Super Middleweight title. |
| Win | 20–0 | Delray Raines |
KO | 2 (10) | 2009-12-11 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
Won vacant WBC Youth Intercontinental Middleweight title. |
| Win | 19–0 | Alfredo Contreras |
KO | 2 (8) | 2009-11-07 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 18–0 | Donny McCrary |
KO | 1 (8) | 2009-10-03 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 17–0 | Bladimir Hernandez |
KO | 5 (8) | 2009-08-28 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 16–0 | Martin Avila |
TKO | 2 (6) | 2009-06-19 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 15–0 | Thomas Davis |
KO | 1 (6) | 2009-04-18 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 14–0 | Luis Roberto Reyes |
TKO | 1 (8) | 2009-03-07 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 13–0 | Rogelio Sanchez |
TKO | 3 (6) | 2009-01-30 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 12–0 | Patrick Tessier |
TKO | 2 (6) | 2008-11-01 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
Won vacant Canada - Quebec Boxing Council (CQB) Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 11–0 | Lance Moody |
KO | 1 (6) | 2008-10-04 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 10–0 | Ulises Duarte |
TKO | 1 (4) | 2008-08-01 | Gare Windsor, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 9–0 | Oswaldo Gonzalez |
TKO | 2 (6) | 2008-07-11 | Uniprix Stadium, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 8–0 | Julio Gonzalez |
TKO | 2 (6) | 2008-06-06 | Uniprix Stadium, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 7–0 | Rodney Green |
TKO | 4 (4) | 2008-05-03 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 6–0 | Guillermo Cortez |
KO | 1 (4) | 2008-02-09 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 5–0 | Jesus Ortega |
KO | 1 (4) | 2007-12-07 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 4–0 | Rene Fernandez |
KO | 2 (4) | 2007-09-15 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 3–0 | Andres Lovera |
KO | 2 (4) | 2007-06-08 | Uniprix Stadium, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 2–0 | Jose Luis Alvarez |
TKO | 2 (4) | 2007-05-12 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
| Win | 1–0 | Jose Candelario Torres |
TKO | 2 (4) | 2007-04-14 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec |
|
Titles in boxing
Regional/International Titles:
- Canada CQB Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs)
- WBC Youth Intercontinental Middleweight Champion (160 lbs)
- Canada Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)
- WBC International Middleweight Champion (160 lbs)
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Jermain Taylor |
IBF Middleweight Champion June 20, 2015 – October 17, 2015 |
Succeeded by Gennady Golovkin |
References
- ↑ Boxrec. "David Lemieux". Boxrec Fighter Page. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
- ↑ Réjean Tremblay (7 June 2015). "David Lemieux, un boxeur qui vient de loin" (in French). Journal de montréal. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ Amine Esseghir (19 June 2015). "David Lemieux, le petit gars de Cartierville veut sa ceinture" (in French). TC Media / Courrier Ahuntsic / Bordeaux-Cartierville. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ Mathieu Boulay (30 March 2015). "Camille Estephan réplique à Yvon Michel" (in French). TVA Sports. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ Jean-Luc Autret (22 January 2014). "Camille Estephan, un promoteur ambitieux" (in French). 12rounds.ca. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- 1 2 Doiron, Paul (October 16, 2009). "18 fights and 18 wins for young, upcoming boxer". Miramichi Leader (Brunswick News). p. C1.
- ↑ Eastsideboxing.com, 11 December 2011 Retrieved on 11 December 2011. The attendance was roughly 3,000 people.
- ↑ Jake Donovan (2015-06-21). "Lemieux Floors N'Dam Four Times, Wins Decision And Title". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
- ↑ http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?cat=boxer&human_id=389447