David Lemieux frighteningly knocked out Curtis Stevens Saturday night on HBO, winning the contest of huge punchers with a left hand that left Stevens out cold for what seemed like two or three hours.
The middleweight bout promised to feature big shots, but after another amazing knockout Friday, it wasn’t a sure thing it would deliver even the best KO of the weekend. Instead, it might have delivered the best KO of the year.
The two sluggers came out on fire, but Lemieux hurt Stevens with a right hand that had him on his heels the rest of the first round. A left hurt him again to end the round.
Stevens looked steadier in the 2nd, though, and Lemieux slowed a touch. Lemieux was a bit doughy-looking, and it stood to reason that Stevens would benefit from a longer fight. It’s a weird dynamic for a fighter who often started too slow, but patience and time were his biggest allies.
By the 3rd, well, hell, it looked like Stevens was winning his first stanza. Appearances, it turned out, were deceiving. As Stevens went to throw his trademark left hook, Lemieux beat him to the punch with a compact left that could’ve traveled much further and still knocked Stevens out. But with Stevens pushing forward and Lemieux close, that short left landed at a devastating point of impact.
And Stevens, out instantly, stayed out for forever. He got stretchered out. Fortunately, according to promoter Main Events, Stevens was responsive as he left.
Lemieux would like a rematch with Gennady Golovkin, which doesn’t hold much immediate appeal after Golovkin gave him a one-sided slaughtering. Maybe someday if Golovkin looks a little vulnerable. Until then, a match-up with the likes of Billy Joe Saunders, whom Lemieux mentioned, could be a good time.
******
The Yuriorkis Gamboa of TQBR’s dreams is probably gone forever, based on his boring junior lightweight outing against Rene Alvarado, a fighter he probably should’ve massacred if he was anything like his old self. What he did was win a lackluster decision where the only knockdown came late at Alvarado’s hands, and Gamboa’s bad balance.
(Photo: Lemieux after his victory; via)
