Lemieux v O'Sullivan - Middleweight Bangers
This Saturday on the undercard of Canelo v GGG there is another fantastic fight that seems to have slipped under the radar in the middleweight division. Montreal's former IBF World Middleweight Champion David Lemieux (39-4) takes on Irelands Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan (28-2) in what can only be described as a "ticking time bomb" of a fight. I say that because its going to go off, its just a matter of when. The fight is a cross roads for both fighters as it is probable that the loser will never again compete at World Level.
Lemieux who arguably had knockout of the year in 2017 v Curtis Stevens will be looking to get back in contention for a world title shot after losing his latest attempt against Billy Joe Saunders in December. He has since come back in May winning a straight forward 12 round Unanimous Decision against fringe contender Karim Achour however weighed over the 160lbs middleweight limit (162lbs).
O'Sullivan coming off a 6 fight winning streak since last losing to Chris Eubank Jnr in December 2015 was last saw in May stopping Berlin Abreu in 3 and will be right up for the fight as he will see this as the last hurdle before a World Title shot should he win.
This fight could steal the show on Saturday. Both are rarely in a dull fight and love to engage. Its a real pick'em in which im slightly leaning towards Lemieux. Lemieux has beaten the higher calibre of opponents and is the younger man by nearly 5 years at 29.
Some may say Lemieux has more miles on the clock as he was on the end of a very one sided beatdown to Gennady Golovkin where he lost his world title and then the frustrating night in which he lost nearly every round to Billy Joe Saunders but i just feel Spikes style may suit Lemieux. Spike likes to stand and fight and hits pretty hard himself but Lemieux should be the slightly harder hitter, He has stopped 33 of his 39 victims.
Golovkin was very technical and monster hitting and Saunders was very skillful with good movement, Spike is none of these things with all due respect. Spike is more of a fans favourite style, rugged, hard hitting and a tough man. In pointing these key factors out it would still be no surprise as such if Spike managed to get the win. His only other loss was also to Saunders which there is no disgrace in at all, you just feel if he is to win on Saturday he needs a career best.
One thing is for sure. Its a matter of time before the bombs fly in this one and it could turn out to be a very, very fun fight. Watch out for both fighters left hooks they could be the deciding factor in this battle of the middleweight bangers.