David Lemieux-Curtis Stevens: Pre-Fight Report Card

by Cliff Rold

Last week, we got two of the best welterweights in the world. Next week, we get a pair of excellent title fights at middleweight and Jr. bantamweight. In between, it’s bombs away.

We hope.

Not every fight needs a title on the line. Sometimes, a pair of big punchers is more than enough to make a good night at the fights. That’s what we’ve got Saturday (HBO, 11 PM EST). Curtis Stevens is 4-1 with three stops since a lost title opportunity at the hands of Gennady Golovkin in 2013. David Lemieux is 2-0 with a knockout since losing a unification battle with Golovkin in 2015.

For either man to get back in the title picture again, they’ll need a win this weekend. This one wasn’t made for defensive acumen. 

Let’s go the report card.

The Ledger

David Lemieux
Age: 28
Title: None
Previous Titles: WBA middleweight (2015)
Height: 5’9 ½
Weight: 159 lbs.
Hails from: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Record: 36-3, 32 KO, 2 KOBY?
Record in Major Title Fights: 1-1, 1 KOBY
Rankings: #4 (TBRB, ESPN, Ring, Boxing Monthly, BoxRec), #6 (BoxingScene)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 3 (Joachim Alcine L12; Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam UD12; Gennady Golovkin TKO by 8)
 
Vs.
 
Curtis Stevens
Age: 32
Title/Previous Titles: None
Height: 5’7
Weight: 158 ¼ lbs.
?Hails from: Brooklyn, New York
Record: 29-5, 21 KO, 2 KOBY
Rankings: #7 (Boxing Monthly)
Record in Major Title Fights: 0-1, 1 KOBY
Current/Former World Champions Faced: 8 (Carl Daniels UD8; Gennady Golovkin RTD8; Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam L12)

Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Lemieux B+; Stevens B+
Pre-Fight: Power – Lemieux B+; Stevens B+
Pre-Fight: Defense – Lemieux B-; Stevens C
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Lemieux B; Stevens B

While Lemieux does have a higher knockout percentage, it’s hard to say which man really has the edge in power. That’s a reflection of how they apply their power. Stevens is more methodical, stalking and looking for big shots. Lemieux fights with more abandon on his best nights, throwing more and often landing more.

Both men saw their output contained against Golovkin, but that’s not a negative. They were in with a superior opponent. Stevens showed tremendous guts getting off the floor early against Golovkin while Lemieux hung in there without any answers to a thudding jab that never let up.

Could Lemieux’s aggression work against him here? When he’s throwing, he often leaves himself open and Stevens has a big hook. Time it right and Lemieux can be hurt. Of course, for that to happen, Stevens has to be able to set it up. The Lemieux attack could keep him off balance and unable to plant the way he’ll need to.

In terms of craft, Lemieux is the more schooled of the two. He’s not a great boxer but he’s better than he sometimes gets credit for. He uses the jab more than Stevens and has better head movement. Both of those will matter if Stevens goes into his one lead power shot at a time mode.   

The Pick

It wouldn’t be a shock if this fight turns a little tactical in spots. Lemieux seems to mostly work in a sort of fast forward but since consecutive losses to Marco Antonio Rubio and Alcine, he’s become much more focused and controlled. A reckless approach gives Stevens chances. A disciplined Lemieux would appear to be more rounded and that should make the difference here. There will be some quality exchanges but in the end Lemieux will land more, more often, and probably draw a stoppage sometime in the second half of the fight.

Report Card and Staff Picks 2017: 3-4 

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com