By Richard Cloutier, netboxe.com
A large crowd gathered at the Bell Centre for the first gala of the series - "Fast & Furious" - presented by the Groupe Yvon Michel. They were able to once again view the exemplary performance of the ultimate slugger, Quebec's young David Lemieux (24-0-0).
In the ring with the veteran Hector Camacho Jr. (52-4-1), Lemieux stayed faithful to his style. As soon as he saw his rival falter, he attacked immediately, securing the knockout with a powerful right hand at the very end of the first round. Lemieux was making the first defense of his WBC International belt. His next fight, being discussed for the Bell Centre, is scheduled for December 3. The name of his opponent is not yet known. However, promoter Yvon Michel will take advantage of the WBC's upcoming convention to get the organization to sanction a final eliminator involving Lemieux.
"What we want is an eliminator, perhaps in February or April. This will depend on the amount of time involved with the negotiations. When we get back from the convention, we will have a free period of 30 days to negotiate with the chosen opponent. If we managed to conclude an agreement quickly, we might stage it in December, but that would surprise me. "
David Lemieux is currently ranked third behind Paul Williams and WBC silver champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The defending world middleweight champion is Sergio Martinez. It should be noted that Lemieux's big win was shown live in Argentina, Turkey, South Africa, and on ESPN Deportes and ESPN3.
"With another KO in first round," said Yvon Michel. "I've come to the conclusion that anyone at 160 lbs or 168 lbs, who will get hit by David, will fall. You know, he could now fight with Kelly Pavlik, Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams. As for Lucian Bute, I will include him in there. Perhaps Lucian would be able to go twelve rounds without getting hit. Maybe yes, maybe no. But if he gets hit in the same manner as he got hit by [Jesse] Brinkley, [Lemieux] would do the same thing [win by knockout]."
As the main support, Antonin Decarie (24-1-0) has had its hands full with his replacement opponent, the American Irving Garcia (17-6-3). With a heavily bruised face, Décarie recorded a victory by majority decision at the end of 10 rounds.
"It was a challenging evening but still, the fight went very well," Décarie said when questioned in the late evening. "I won most of the rounds, but I got cut. I had so much blood in my eyes that I couldn't see anything and I got hit. I got hurt more than once. In the tenth round, I was not finished, but I felt the punches and they were solid."
"As for the reason, it's really a matter of styles because I'm in very good physical condition. I was preparing for an opponent who was small, feisty, and without any real jab. Here I faced a guy at the last minute with the same physique as me and a great jab. In the first round, I tried to fight him in the same way as I planned against Victor Lupo, by working around the jab and exploding from the outside. I tried to do that with him, but he had such a good jab that it hit me often. Then he caught me with solid blows."
"I do not know if I have a broken nose. The doctor gave me stitches and gave me anti-inflammatories. I'm going to pass tests tomorrow and we will try to pass a scan. Honestly, I'm happy because it was a good show for the people who were here. I remember that my favorite boxer when I was younger was Arturo Gatti. After his fights, I remember the marks that were all over his face, and now my face is as affected as his. So if I was able to give a good show, I am very happy for the people who were there. "
