By Luke Furman
This past weekend in Canada, manager Camille Estephan had categorically indicated that it was David Lemieux's last fight at middleweight.
He said his boxer would make the jump to the super middleweight limit of 168-pounds.
Lemieux struggled to make the middleweight limit for a scheduled fight with Frenchman Karim Achour on Saturday. He came in two pounds over the limit and was docked 20% of his purse after being unable to get down any lower.
Despite the struggles to make weight, Lemieux (39-4, 33 KOs) still dominated Achour (26-5-3, 4 KOs) over twelve rounds and scored a knockdown in the twelfth.
Lemieux's trainer, Marc Ramsay, says a jump to 168-pounds is certainly possible, but he believes his boxer could still remain at the middleweight limit.
"We will see. There were a lot of things that were said during the week under the influence of emotion," said Ramsay to the Canadian Press.
"It's a big decision; a decision that must be taken as a team, with the medical staff, Camille, etc. It is necessary to take the right decision and for that, it is necessary to take the time to think carefully.
Lemieux has no problem with either direction.
"I'm going to review [my options] with my team. Certainly there are adjustments to make," said Lemieux.
"It is a certainty [that missing weight]... it must not happen again. [If we stay at 160], we will have to do things differently. I think it's still possible to do it. But at worst, if we go to 168, that's ok."
If ever Lemieux had to go to the super middleweight, Ramsay believes that he has the qualities to do well.
"He certainly has the power to do it. Obviously there will be a little adaptation period, but that will be my job at the gym. [Lemieux's height of 5'9] is a small problem, but boxing is the kind of thing that you have to learn to manage. David is a pressure boxer who likes to go on the offense. He always tries to get closer to the target, so it's a job that's natural for us," Ramsay said.
