By Steve Kim
Former IBF middleweight belt-holder, David Lemieux (35-3, 32KOs) takes on Cristian Rios on October 22nd at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
If Lemieux should come out victorious as expected, his braintrust would like to see him get a particular bout in 2017.
Camille Estephan, the head of Eye of the Tiger Management, which handles Lemieux's career, wants to get his fighter in the ring with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (48-1-1, 34KOs). Both Canelo and Lemieux are promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
Canleo, who last month captured the WBO junior middleweight title with a knockout of Liam Smith, is planning to move up the middleweight limit of 160-pounds. He injured his right hand in the contest and won't return to the ring until the first half of next year.
"What we'd like to do is fight Canelo and it's a matter of putting David in a positions where that fight is as appealing to the fans, as possible," said Estephan to BoxingScene.com.
"So the bottom line with David, it's about him impressing the fans, impressing the media, impressing us like he always does and showing that he's going to be a big, big step for Canelo - if Canelo wants to go to 160."
Last year Lemieux was stopped in eight rounds at the Madison Square Garden by Gennady Golovkin for his IBF belt. He returned on May 7th by halting Glen Tapia in four rounds on Alvarez's undercard in Las Vegas, when the Mexican star faced Amir Khan.
When asked if he had spoken to Golden Boy about this potential match-up, Estephan said to BoxingScene - "We've spoken about it, it's been awhile. I think everyone's talking to them about Canelo, when you look at the situation from a financial point of view, from a business point of view.
"I'm sure a lot of boxers would love to fight him but I think David Lemieux and Canelo would be a sure-fire attraction for all boxing fans around the world. So we'll see what Canelo wants to do."
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com
