David Lemieux vs Tureano Johnson Preview Dec. 15th
Former world middleweight titleholder David Lemieux is back in action this Saturday, December 15th when he takes on Tureano Johnson of the Bahamas at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on DAZN while fans in the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports. Lemieux last fought in September may when he knocked out Gary O’Sullivan in the first round. Johnson was last in action in August of 2017 when he was stopped in the 12th round by Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Lemieux vs Johnson Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Tureano Johnson +350
- David Lemieux -485
My Pick
In his last major bout, the 29-year-old Lemieux was thoroughly outboxed and somewhat embarrassed over 12 rounds by former WBO Champ Billy Joe Saunders last December. He then came back with a 12-round unanimous decision win over little known Karim Achour in May to rebuild his confidence and then destroyed Spike O’Sullivan in 164 seconds in September. There’s no hiding the fact that Lemieux doesn’t want to box anybody, he just wants to knock them out.
Lemieux had a good amateur career and has also won the Quebec Boxing Council Super Welterweight Title and Canadian Boxing Federation Super Middleweight title as a pro as well as the NABF, WBO NABO, WBC Continental Americas, and WBO Inter-Continental Middleweight Titles. However, he’s best known for once being the IBF Middleweight king. He enters the bout with a record of 40-4 along with 34 big Kos. He’s a hard-hitting brawler with a lot of power and somewhat questionable chin.
While he usually blasts most of his opponents out, he’s also been stopped himself a couple of times as Marco Antonio Rubio halted him in the seventh round in 2011 and Gennady Golovkin stopped him in the eighth round in 2015. His other loss also came in 2011 when Joachim Alcine beat him by a 12-round majority decision. He turned pro in 2007 and has fought 180 rounds since then and owns a current knockout ratio of 77 per cent.
He’s beaten some journeymen along the way and lost when stepping up in class against Rubio, Alcine, Golovkin and Saunders. However he stopped Curtis Stevens by a sensational third-round knockout last year, stopped Gabriel Rosado in 10 rounds in 2014, beat Hassan N’Dam by unanimous decision for the vacant IBF crown in 2015, stopped Glen Tapia in four in 2016 and beat Marcos Reyes by 10-round unanimous decision in May, 2016.
Lemieux is just over 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 70-inch reach. He isn’t a naturally-gifted boxer, but he works hard for everything he has, possesses heart and power and is quite entertaining. His chin is questionable though and that’s one of the reasons he’s so exciting. Like I said, he isn’t interested in going to the scorecards and will be looking to stop Johnson as soon as possible. Basically, boxing is Lemieux’s weak point and slugging is his strong point.
As for Johnson, he enters the bout with a mark of 20-2 with 14 Kos. He’s going to have some ring rust though since he hasn’t fought in 16 months due to a left biceps injury in his last fight. He’s 34 years old and has boxed just 102 rounds since turning pro back in 2010. He’s 5-feet-10-inches tall with a reach of 73.5 inches so has an inch in height on Lemieux as well as 3.5 inches in reach. Like Lemieux, he has good power, but a questionable chin and that’s why this could be a great fight for the fans.
Along with being stopped by Derevyanchenko, Johnson was also halted in 10 rounds by Curtis Stevens in 2014. His biggest wins have been against the likes of Willie Fortune, Mike Gavronski, Humberto Toledo, Eamonn O’Kane and Fabiano Soares and he’s picked up the WBC Continental Americas, and Silver Middleweight Titles along the way. Johnson’s knockout ratio is 64 per cent, but he’s struggled when stepping up in class against Derevyanchenko and Stevens, but did manage to take both of them into the final round.
He’s been working out with Andre Rozier, who trains both Derevyanchenko and Daniel Jacobs, so knows what he’s doing. Johnson has better boxing skills than Lemieux and enjoyed a fine amateur career, which included boxing in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China where he went 2-1. Lemieux can’t afford to underestimate Johnson as he attempts to secure a shot against Canelo Alvarez.
Prediction…
This could be an all-action fight that could suddenly change momentum with one big punch from either man since they both have good power and shaky chins. However, if Johnson utilizes his boxing skills and stays away from a brawl he should have the advantage. Lemieux is one of the hardest hitters in the sport though and I have a feeling he’ll be able to land something before the 12 rounds are over. This should be a close fight, but Lemieux’s power and experience against top-class fighters will be the difference rather than Johnson’s boxing skills.
I’ll go with Lemieux’s power here.
Play: Lemieux -485 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
David Lemieux betting • Tureano Johnson betting