By James Slater: Unbeaten middleweight David Lemieux of Canada is fast becoming one of the most exciting fighters in the division due to his awesome punching power. At 23-0(22), the 21-year-old has displayed his iron fists in front of large crowds in his native Montreal, and with his last win, a frightening destruction of the respected Elvin Ayala (a 1st-round KO for Lemieux), the hot prospect proved he can step up in class and look as effective at the same time.
The June win left fans wanting more, and now, after being forced to wait a little longer than he wanted due to an injury, Lemieux is ready to give his fans more action. Set to return to the ring on October 29th, once again in Montreal, the venue so far for each of the middleweight’s pro outings, Lemieux will face a TBA over a scheduled 12-rounds. However, the man with all the breaking news, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, says on his Twitter page that it could well be Hector Camacho Junior for Lemieux at the end of next month.
If so, this is a very interesting fight.
32-year-old Camacho, now 52-3-1(28) may have failed to live up to his early promise, but he is by far the most experienced fighter Lemieux will have faced, and he is a cute and clever southpaw also. What’s more, “Macho” Junior has won his last nine fights and he has been stopped just once in his 14-year pro career – by Andrey Tsurkan, who TKO’d him in the 8th-round way back in 2006. Make no mistake, if Lemieux were to take Camacho out quickly, say in a couple or three rounds, he would be making a pretty big statement.
Camacho, aside from being a lefty, has many other tricks up his sleeve. Could the Puerto Rican get in there and mess Lemieux around, maybe even give him a veritable boxing lesson at times? It may all depend on A; Camacho’s attitude, and, B: how much he has left at age 32. Less than active in recent months (just one fight since last October’s points win over Ramon Campos), Camacho has also boxed at a heavier weight at times, due to him being in less than great condition – Camacho Jnr has fought as high as the low 170s in his time. But, in for last four wins, Camacho weighed less than, or bang on, the middleweight limit. If he’s worked for this fight, and if he’s had enough time to get ready for it, he will be strong enough at 160.
Who knows, this could be the fight where Camacho finally lets it all out; where he finally shines like many people felt he could shine. I’m definitely going to go with Lemiiuex as far as picking a winner is concerned, primarily due to his incredible power and aggression, but Camacho Jnr could well give the 21-year-old his toughest, most frustrating fight yet.