Laval’s Lemieux to face Reyes in Vegas
In his quest to regain a dominant position atop the middleweight division, David Lemieux certainly isn’t wasting time.
Barely more than two weeks after demolishing Curtis Stevens in the third round, Golden Boy Promotions announced Laval’s Lemieux will return to the ring May 6 for a 10-round bout against Mexico’s Marcos Reyes at the TMobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout, to be televised on pay-perview by HBO, will be co-featured with the 12-round main event between Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Lemieux (37-3, 33 knockouts) and Reyes (35-4, 26 KOs) will fight at 163 pounds, three pounds over the division’s limit.
“We want to be the best and we’re going to do it differently than ordinary people,” said Lemieux, the former International Boxing Federation champ who knocked Stevens unconscious on March 11 at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y. “We’re maximizing every facet of my career. There’s no time to waste.”
Lemieux has won three consecutive bouts since losing his title to Gennady Golovkin at Madison Square Garden in October 2015, when the Quebecer was stopped in the eighth round of a lopsided fight.
Lemieux and his co-promoter, Camille Estephan, badly want a showdown against Alvarez (48-11, 34 KOs), who holds the World Boxing Organization super-welterweight title and has also fought as a middleweight.
Alvarez also is promoted by Golden Boy, making it difficult not to presume the two winners could meet in a showdown. According to ESPN.com, Lemieux and Alvarez could fight as early as Sept. 16, although Alvarez probably has his sights set on Golovkin.
“The fact (Lemieux and Alvarez) both are on the same card is crucial for building the promotional part of a (potential) fight against Canelo,” Estephan said.
“We never want to look past a fight. Hopefully, we’re going to win it. As long as we can do that, the possibilities of fighting Canelo are real. It would be a big fight and, certainly, we’d be happy to do it if the deal’s right.
“All eyes will be on us,” Estephan continued. “HBO is giving us an opportunity to be on the network again, which is huge. They believe in David. We believe in David.”
Lemieux, 28, is a year younger than Reyes, who isn’t expected to provide much of an obstacle despite his impressive record.
Reyes was last in the ring this month as well, stopping Diego Rivera (10-11) in the second round on March 17. Last November, Reyes was stopped in the seventh round by Elvin Ayala. And in July 2015, Reyes lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Chavez Jr. Reyes is 3-3 in his last six fights. “I know everyone is talking about the Lemieux knockout, but I’m ready to take him out,” Reyes said in a news release. “I’m ready to turn Lemieux’s lights out.”
Lemieux vowed he won’t take Reyes lightly or look past him.
“Sometimes the obvious isn’t so obvious,” Lemieux said. “I’m there to give the best of what I’ve got. Every fighter is a serious fighter. This guy has a very good record. He’s a very strong guy who gave Chavez difficulties. He’s a guy I take seriously. He’s a guy I’ll train very hard for — to make sure there are no surprises in the fight.”