The next big thing label was unceremoniously peeled off Lemieux and ceremoniously affixed to someone else?
Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, NABF middleweight champion David Lemieux (32-2, 30 KOs), the slugger from Montreal, Canada, defends his title against rugged Gabriel Rosado (2-8, 13 KOs), who hails from the City of Brotherly Love.
A few years back Lemieux, an undefeated come-forward fighter with dynamite in his fists, was being touted as the next big thing in the middleweight division. It looked like the sky was the limit. But he lost two back-to-back fights in 2011, the first to the spoiler?s spoiler Marco Antonio Rubio by TKO, and the second to Joachim Alcine by decision.
The next big thing label was unceremoniously peeled off Lemieux and ceremoniously affixed to someone else.
Rosado has never been touted as the next big anything. He has suffered several losses, including three of his last four fights (with one no contest). But those losses were to the cr?me de la cr?me of the division, Gennady Golovkin and Peter Quillin in 2013 (his NC was against J?Leon Love, who tested positive for a ban diuretic the same year) and Jermel Charlo last January. Rosado?s Achilles heel is his Achilles face. He bleeds during the National Anthem. But Rosado always come to fight. He may go down, but he?ll go down swinging.
In anticipation of the fight, which will be broadcast live on HBO Boxing After Dark at 10 PM ET/PT, the fighters met with the press via teleconference call to remind those who have need reminding that boxing is alive and well and still kicking.
?This is going to be an exciting fight,? said Lemieux, ?and it?s going to be brutal. I?m not fighting for the fans. I?m fighting for my family. I want to feed my children. So let?s get down to business.?
There are those who think, not unreasonably, that Rosado is slipping. But Lemieux doesn?t care what anyone thinks.
?I don?t care what other people are saying about Gabriel Rosado. We?ve been studying Gabriel Rosado. He?s a very good fighter. He?s very durable. He?s been in there with a lot of guys, a lot of tough guys. Any fighter can be dangerous. He?s still young, he?s still fresh, he?s not beaten up. He?s going to come to fight and he has a lot of gas. Rosado?s a serious dude and we?re taking him very seriously. He?s going to bring good stuff to the table. But I?m extremely confident. I?m not worried. Once he meets me it?s going to be a head-on collision.?
This is a crossroads fight for both men. The winner moves on to bigger and better things. The loser will be praised for going out on his shield.
?This fight right here is a fight where I want to win and I definitely want to win it for the fans,? said Rosado, ?because it?s kind of like they?re just waiting for me to get my break already. Regardless of the bad decisions, or whatever the case may be, I think a lot of it had to do with me needing to be a lot more disciplined and refocused and I think that?s what I?m doing now. I never had a big manager. I never started off with a big promoter. I pretty much worked my whole career having a graveyard shift or just doing odd jobs and training for fights. I?m kind of like the blue-collar guy, so I think the fans kind of relate to me and they?re pulling for me because it?s like they can relate to me on that level. But I stay humble. I don?t get big headed or anything like that. I always remember where I come from.
?I?m not taking David Lemieux lightly. I think he comes in there and he tries to go for the kill, he tries to go for the knockout, throwing a lot of big shots. It?s nothing that I haven?t seen in the past. I?ve been through a lot of iffy experiences in boxing. I know what I need to do.?
