Lemieux: I'm More Than Ready To Seize The Moment

By Jake Donovan

Strike while the iron is hot – or at least so goes the philosophy behind David Lemieux pursuing a middleweight title unification bout with Gennady Golovkin. Less than two weeks remain before their October 17 clash at Madison Square Garden in New York City, airing live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

The bout comes just four months after Lemieux’s first taste of title glory, claiming a vacant belt following a 12-round win over Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam in June. The slugger from Montreal scored four knockdowns over the course of the night, but was forced to contend with a resilient challenger in N’Dam, who pushed the hometown favorite to the brink despite his frequent trips to the canvas.

It was the type of fight that would have cause the older version of Lemieux to mentally crumble, as was the case in back-to-back losses in 2011.

“You know the losses that occurred in the past made me realize a lot of things and I guess it depends on how you react to adversity in life some people it breaks them and others it makes them,” Lemieux (34-2, 31KOs) theorizes. “Champions are made I guess in these trying moments and I can certainly say I've had them like they say the best way to learn is from your own experiences.

“All of these things coupled with effort we're putting in on a consistent basis workout after workout, day after day week after week year after year in a most consistent fashion is one of the reasons why I feel I will be coming out victorious in the battle of the 17th.”

Both of his career losses came in winnable fights. In fact, he was in control for much of the night versus Marco Antonio Rubio before a mid-rounds collapse in their ESPN2 headliner in April ’11.

There’s an argument to be made that he was shafted on the cards in a majority decision loss to Joachime Alcine later that December. Of course, in order to present such a case you’d have to come up with the upside to denying victory to a fighter like Lemieux, whose movie star looks and all-action style have made him a huge draw in Montreal.

Nevertheless, it was necessary growing pains for a young fighter still days away from his 23rd birthday at the time of his second straight loss. From the setbacks came a growth period in and out of the ring. Nine straight wins have followed as he marches into the biggest fight of his career, but one where he feels should have never come a day sooner.

“Well you know this fight is definitely happening at a time in my life and in my career where it feels that things are coming together and into a culmination of planted efforts that have grown,” Lemieux insists. “In a way things happen for a reason and now looking back I sort of understand some things and the reason as to why they happened.

“That being said I have made a lot of changes in my life both from a professional and a personal point of view. I feel there was definitely a lot of growth in my life which makes me feel more than ready to seize the moment and grab this opportunity.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene