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HBO’s Boxing after Dark presents David Lemieux versus Curtis Stevens for the NABO middleweight championship on Saturday, March 11th, 2017 at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York.
Comeback Trail
David Lemieux is on the comeback trail. After losing his IBF Middleweight title to Gennady Golovkin in 2015, Lemieux has won two fights in a row. He knocked out Glen Tapia to win the WBO-NABO middleweight title in May of 2016 and beat Christian Rios by UD in October of the same year.
Like Lemieux, Curtis Stevens has won two bouts in a row since losing to Hassan N’Dam in 2014. Stevens knocked out Patrick Teixeira last May and decisioned James Dela Rosa in November. Like Lemieux, Stevens faced Gennady Golovkin and got stopped by the Kazakh power puncher.
The Odds
Lemieux is a -425 favorite to win the fight while Stevens is a +340 underdog here. Not only is David Lemieux the more physically bigger fighter, he is also the more decorated boxer here. Being a former world champion champion, Lemieux has fought better opposition than Stevens. But then there is more to this than just the better resume.
Stevens has fought mostly in New York and will have the home court advantage in this fight. He’s also a live underdog because of his punching power and Lemieux’s susceptibility to getting hit and kissing the canvass. Stevens has a very good left hook and if he nails Lemieux clean to the body with a couple of those early, the Canadian could be in trouble.
The Big Question
Lemieux thought has power of his own and can definitely take out Stevens at any time. But while Lemieux has the power, his skills are also limited. He will most likely try to avoid Stevens early and go for the KO in the second half of the bout. However, one point worth noting is that Lemieux tends to slow down in the second half of the fight and Stevens appears to have the better stamina between the two, based on previous bouts.
The big question here however is if Stevens can be 100% healthy. In his most recent bout, Stevens suffered a left shoulder injury and struggled to beat James De La Rosa with one fully functional arm. If that arm is good as new, then this may be a closer bout than the odds are saying However, with that unknown factor, we’re siding with David Lemieux to beat Curtis Stevens in a competitive bout.
