In the second bout of the May 24th Showtime Championship Boxing broadcast, David Lemieux (32-2, 30 knockouts) wasted no time in making the most of his match-up against Fernando Guerrero (26-3, 19 knockouts). Both fighters came into this fight talking about their pension for all-action bouts and violent ends, and this fight proved to be no exception.
At the opening bell, both fighters met in the middle of the ring and began exchanging a series of jabs. Guerrero appeared to be the aggressor early thanks to a higher punch output and the constant attempt to force Lemieux along the ropes. Even so, it was Lemieux who manages to uncork the first bomb of the night as he badly hurt Guerrero coming in with a counter-hook.
Guerrero managed to clinch with Lemieux while falling forward, thus being spared the knockdown call, but Lemieux dropped Guerrero again with a left hook towards the end of the round.
Although Guerrero managed to beat the count it was clear that he was in way over his head with Lemieux. Following an already brutal round one, Lemieux began round two by forcing Guerrero along the ropes and ripping bodyshot after bodyshot against his already hurt opponent. Guerrero did his best to keep the Canadian fighter off of him, but Lemieux once again managed to knock him down while also cutting him badly.
The absolute route of Guerrero continued into round three after Guerrero decided to take a knee mid-action in hopes of clearing some of the blood from his badly cut eye. Even with his vision cleared, there was little Guerrero could do to stop the incoming onslaught from Lemieux. Once again, Lemieux forced Guererro along the ropes and landed a combination of body shots capped by a right uppercut that sent Guerrero crashing to the canvas.
The knockout victory over Guerrero certainly provided the shot-in-the-arm that the broadcast so desperately needed, but more important brings a new contender to a division greatly in need of some depth. There’s no telling how far Lemieux may succeed as he fights through the ranks of the 160-pound division, but one thing for sure is that he is a fighter to watch.
