LAVAL, Que. — Billy Joe Saunders of Britain toyed with frustrated David Lemieux in his hometown for a one-sided victory to retain his World Boxing Organization middleweight title on Saturday night.
Saunders (26-0) made a third defence of the title he won from Andy Lee in 2015 and showed he will be a force to be reckoned with in the division that is currently ruled by stars Saul (Canelo) Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.
Lemieux (38-3), a former International Boxing Federation champion, fell short in his bid to become the first Canadian since Arturo Gatti to win a second title.
Saunders had Lemieux off balance from the outset, ** the Laval resident miss while darting in to land shots seemingly at will.
Canadian judge Benoit Roussel scored it a 120-108, Briton Phil Edwards had it 118-110 and Gerardo Martinez of Puerto Rico 117-111, all for Saunders. The Canadian Press had it 118-110. Only the third and sixth rounds were close until the final two rounds that Saunders mainly spent dancing out of Lemieux’s reach.
“Did I not tell you it was going to be an easy fight?” said Saunders. “I told you he’s not going to hit me and he didn’t hit me.”
2023-10-20 05:05:40
