Lemieux: Chavez Jr. Won't Be an Easy Out For Canelo!

By Ryan Burton

MGM Grand, LAS VEGAS - Former middleweight champion David Lemieux is chomping at the bit to get in the ring with Marcos Reyes (35-4, 26 KOs) Saturday night. The fight will serve as the co-feature to the Canelo Alvarez-Julio Cesar Chavez HBO pay-per-view headliner. The action takes place st the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas strip.

There has been a lot of speculation that if Canelo and Lemieux both win their respect fights and a deal can't be reached for Canelo to face Golovkin, that Lemieux may be the front runner to face the Guadalajara native next.

"That is definitely going to be up there. He is a great fighter and I am definitely here to fight the best. When the time comes to fight Canelo my arms are wide open. I'm not afraid of anyone. Others are going to fear me and not me fear them," Lemieux explained.

Lemieux (37-3, 33 KOs) isn't calling a Canelo victory a foregone conclusion either.  He believes that Chavez will come to fight and is a live dog in the contest.

"Definitely. Chavez is a good fighter. He is a big boy. He has a different style than Canelo. He is a strong guy and he is a lot bigger and his father is a legend. There are a lot of things to prove on his behalf coming into the fight  also and it could be to his advantage," Lemieux told BoxingScene.

Also on the Canelo vs. Chavez, Jr. undercard, former WBC Silver Super Lightweight Champion Lucas "La Maquina" Matthysse (37-4, 34 KOs) will take on Emmanuel "Tranzformer" Taylor (20-4, 14 KOs) and Joseph "JoJo" Diaz, Jr. (23-0, 13 KOs) will be defending his NABF title against Manuel "Tino" Avila (22-0, 8 KOs) on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter