By Jake Donovan
It’s a scenario he plays over in his head every day and the answer remains the same: if David Lemieux was offered his choice of whom he’d like to face for the first defense of his middleweight title, the answer would remain Gennady Golovkin.
In fact, if you give the dethroned titlist his choice of whom he’d like to face for his next title shot, the answer will remain the same.
“I felt at the time that I could beat Gennady Golovkin,” Lemieux (34-3, 31KOs) recalls of the moments leading to his agreeing to their middleweight title unification bout in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden last October. “I didn’t need the fight; in fact he needed it more than me, as he wanted to unify the titles. As a champion, I wanted to fight him, fight the best.
“As an ex-champion, I still want to fight Gennady Golovkin. I want my title back and plan to become champion again in 2016.”
Lemieux had just won the belt four months prior in a thrilling 12-round points win over Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam. His first defense turned out to be his last, suffering a one-sided 8th round stoppage against the man widely regarded as the best middleweight in the world.
The night obviously didn’t go as planned, but also didn’t leave Lemieux discouraged about his future in the sport. He’s now prepared to return to the ring, his first fight back coming March 12 versus James de la Rosa at home in Montreal, Canada.
“Ever since October, I’ve been excited to get back in the ring,” Lemieux admits. “It’s been a while. I want to get back in there and come back stronger than ever. I plan to show that versus de la Rosa. We know he’s not on Gennady’s level, but he’s a good fighter, someone we have to take serious and not underestimate.”
Assuming all goes well, next on his hit list is anyone with middleweight hardware.
“I only just turned 27 years old; I feel like I’m in my prime,” Lemieux believes. “There’s a lot of David Lemieux left to come. So, as I focus on winning versus James de la Rosa, I want to send a message to all of the middleweight champions that I have plenty left to offer the boxing world.
“I want to end the year with my title back around my waist. I want to get back on top as soon as I can. I don’t just want to talk about it; I want to walk the walk and do whatever it takes to become middleweight champion once again.”
As for a Golovkin rematch, it’s not the immediate goal but in fact his end game.
“Honestly, as long as I do my job here, I just want to fight any of the guys next who have a title,” Lemieux states in general, with those candidates being Billy Joe Saunders, Daniel Jacobs and – as long as he’s willing to forgo his catchweight demands - Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. “I want to fight all of those guys.
“I want to fight all of the best middleweights and give the fans what they want to see. The biggest dog is Golovkin. I want to fight him, but know it cannot happen now. I want it when the fight matters again.”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
