By Jake Donovan
Roc Nation Sports made headlines throughout the week for the number of boxers the rookie promotional company has added to its stable. In an unrelated development, Golden Boy Promotions’ news entries late in the week centered around the alarming amount of talent it was forced to drop.
As it pertains to power punching free agent David Lemieux, Roc Nation was finally beaten to the punch.
Less than a day after it was announced that Lemieux had allowed his promotional deal with Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM Promotions) to expire , the vultures immediately began to circle. Roc Nation was already making its move minutes after the conclusion of its inaugural show in New York City, but proved to be late to the party.
While the deal is not yet officially signed, Golden Boy Promotions is hammering out the final details to bring Lemieux (33-2, 31KOs) on board.
“Right now, David remains a free agent, but yes it’s true we are talking to Golden Boy Promotions,” confirmed Camille Estephan, Lemieux’s manager. “We’re not there yet, but it’s close. I’m optimistic we will reach a deal very soon.”
Once signed, it will be a much needed win for Golden Boy, who announced on Friday—through unnamed sources—that it was severing ties with Al Haymon and all fighters not directly signed to its promotional company .
One notable fighter who remains—and whom was never signed to Haymon—is Mexican icon Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who is high among the list of star-studded boxers Lemieux would love to face in 2015 and beyond. Also in his crosshairs are World lineal middleweight king Miguel Cotto and unbeaten titlist Gennady Golovkin.
Cotto is technically a network free agent, but for the moment loyal to HBO. Alvarez and Golovkin are both under exclusive contract with HBO, with Alvarez crossing the street from Showtime to sign a long-term deal with the network that initially made him a household name in the United States beginning in 2010.
The roster of high-profile fighters in and around the middleweight division is what motivated Lemieux to move on from GYM, who—in terms of stateside affiliation—remains on the Showtime side of the equation for the moment, namely with World light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson.
“HBO is in our corner,” commented Estephan, though noting that his fighter is not yet under exclusive contract with the network. “We look forward to going down this road with them and securing the best fights for David.”
Lemieux made his HBO—and stateside—debut in December, stopping Gabriel Rosado in the 10th round of their headliner at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The show was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, its first solo promotion with HBO in nearly two years after the company in previous form began forklifting its stable over to Showtime. Its official return to the network came one month prior, when Bernard Hopkins lost a lopsided 12-round decision to Sergey Kovalev in their light heavyweight title unification bout.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
