By Luke Furman

Former IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux (38-4, 33 KOs) is looking to make a statement on Saturday night, when he faces Karim Achour (26-4-3, 4 KOs) in Quebec City.

The contest will be the first for Lemieux, since the lopsided defeat to WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders last December.

According to Lemieux, he fought Saunders with a left shoulder injury and wants to prove that he's completely healed and ready to get back in the mix.

Achour has never been stopped and he's not coming to lay down.

The boxer has not lost a contest since March 2013.

Lemieux makes it clear that he's not coming back with any injuries and gave his body the necessary amount of time to heal.

"I didn't have to go in the ring. Nobody was telling me that I don't have a choice. I have a choice and if the shoulder was [injured], I wouldn't take the fight," Lemieux told RDS.

"I'm coming in there and I still have everything to lose. I want to win. I feel that if I lose here, it is a failure for me. I'm coming in there to win, because I know that I have everything to lose."

Lemieux will also continue forward with trainer Marc Ramsay.

"This is the best trainer there is in boxing. I'm with him for that. This isn't because I had a poor performance in the last fight that it's necessarily his fault. There are plenty of small issues that I take the personal share of.

According to manager and co-promoter, Camille Estephan, this will be the first time in 2014 that David will not enter the ring with some form of a lagging injury. It is a bad omen for Achour because during that time Lemieux has still six wins in eight fights, including three by knockout.

Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org