Posted on 03/11/2021
By: Hans Themistode
Vacant NABO Middleweight Title
Referee: Russell Mora
photo credit: WILL HART
Former middleweight titlist David Lemieux will look to get back into championship contention next month when he takes on Ronny Landaeta. Originally, Lemieux (42-4, 35 KOs) was scheduled to take on Robert Talarek. However, due to reasons that are unclear, Talarek was forced to withdraw.
For Lemieux, his career has somewhat stalled following a wide unanimous decision loss at the hands of Billy Joe Saunders in 2017. Since then, the former belt holder has picked up four straight victories but in both 2020 and 2019, he managed to only step into the ring once.
Despite the victories and inactivity however, Lemieux is still looking to bag his first big win since a 2018 first-round stoppage over Gary O’Sullivan. While Lemieux is attempting to recapture championship glory, he’ll do so in his second weight class.
After spending years at 160 pounds, the strain placed on the body of Lemieux eventually became too much for him to bear. And with that, he moved up in weight in late 2019. Although the results have been to his liking, Lemieux is hoping that he continues to impress. In part because of his desire to face unified super middleweight champion, Canelo Alvarez.
The two were thought to be on a collision while the Montreal native campaigned at 160 pounds. However, with Lemieux constantly dealing with weight issues, their contest ultimately fell by the wayside.
In the case of Landaeta (17-3, 11 KOs), his newfound date with Lemieux will undoubtedly represent the toughest fight of his career. Presently, the Venezuelan product has hit a rough patch in his career. In his last ring appearance, the 38-year-old lost via wide unanimous decision against Kevin Lele Sadjo. In totality, he has come up short in three of his past four fights and appears to have a tall mountain to climb in his contest against Lemieux.