Tag Archives: David Lemieux

Billie Joe Saunders vs. David Lemieux Odds and Prediction

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The WBO middleweight title fight between Billie Joe Saunders and David Lemieux will take place on December 16th, 2017 in Montreal, Canada.

The undefeated Saunders is coming off back to back title defenses of the WBO belt he won from Andy Lee in 2015. In his standout career, Saunders defeated Chris Eubank Jr., Gary Sullivan and Willie Monroe Jr.

Huge Motivation

Lemieux captured the IBF middleweight title by knocking out Hassan N’Dam in 2015. Since his loss to Gennady Golovkin, Lemieux has won four in a row including a knockout of the year candidate against Curtis Stevens.

According to promoter Oscar De La Hoya, Lemieux would be in line to fight Canelo Alvarez if the latter’s rematch with Golovkin fizzles. That’s of course if he beats Saunders convincingly so that’s a huge motivation for the Canadian slugger.

Tough Fight

Saunders is the mild favorite here at -120, while Lemieux is at even money (+100). This is going to be a very tough test for Billie Joe Saunders not only in terms of the quality of the opponent but because he is fighting outside his home country for the first time in his career.

Lemieux meanwhile will be fighting in front of his countrymen. And although Lemieux  has two losses in Canada, both of those fights were in 2011. Lemieux has racked nine consecutive wins in Canada and with the crowd behind him, it’s got to play a big factor here.

More Punching Power

But given Lemieux’s shaky chin, Saunders has a good shot at winning this bout by knockout. Two of Lemieux’s three losses were by knockout so given his high work rate and combinations, he may be able to topple Lemieux.

However, Lemieux has more punching power and has the ability to walk down his opponents and personally, that should be what decides this fight. Both men are going to land their shots but Lemieux will hit and land harder.

This is a battle between two aggressive fighters and the one who has more power should be victorious. We’re picking David Lemieux to win this fight by stoppage.

David Lemieux vs Curtis Stevens Odds and Prediction

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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.