‘A star was born tonight’ in boxing ring
Everything was perfect for David Lemieux to become a world champion — from Jermain Taylor being stripped of the title; from his promoter, Golden Boy, winning the purse-bid, meaning the title bout would be in Montreal and they could control the size of the ring to suit their fighter’s style.
Of course, Lemieux still had to hold up his end of the bargain and defeat the tactically sound Hassan N’Dam — he of the concrete noggin. The Laval pugilist did precisely that Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Laval’s Lemieux knocked down his French opponent four times, twice alone in the fifth round, to win the International Boxing Federation middleweight crown with a unanimous 12-round decision before a modest gathering of 4,832 spectators.
“He kept getting up,” said the 26-year-old Lemieux, who improved to 34-2, fighting 12 rounds for only the second time in his career. “And every time he gets back up it’s with a smile.”
Montreal judge Benoit Roussel and France’s Vincent Dupas both scored the bout 115-109, while American Ron McNair had it slightly closer, 114-110. The Montreal Gazette gave Lemieux a 113-111 advantage.
While it’s true Lemieux, generally a one-trick pony who relies on a devastating punch, came as advertised and displayed his trademark power, he also showed he could be disciplined and mature. But there remains aspects of his game that require work, mostly his defence; he still gets hit too frequently. And N’Dam, when he moved, something that should have been difficult in the relatively-small 17-x17 foot ring, confused Lemieux.
N’Dam, now 31-2, would have benefited from a larger ring but Golden Boy, having won the purse-bid with a low offer of $102,000 — the purses split between the two boxers — controlled every aspect, including the ring size, which did fall within the specifications of IBF rules.
Take away the three rounds in which N’Dam was knocked down — a pair of 10-8 rounds and a 10-7 round in the fifth when he hit the canvas twice — and this was a highly competitive bout.
“Right now, David Lemieux is just learning. It’s just the beginning for him. He’s getting better. He’s working on a few things. He’s getting stronger, but he’s getting smarter. We haven’t seen the best of David Lemieux. That’s what’s really exciting,” said former world champion Oscar De La Hoya, who established Golden Boy in 2002.
HBO’s extremely interested in Lemieux, De La Hoya said. Indeed, Lemieux might possess universal appeal — the combination of knockout power and matinee idol good looks.
“There’s a tremendous opportunity that doesn’t come by often,” De La Hoya said.
“A star was born tonight.”