David Lemieux delivered an early candidate for knockout of the year with a devastating one-punch stoppage of Curtis Stevens in Saturday’s 10-round middleweight bout at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Lemieux (37-3, 33 KOs), the prodigious puncher from Montreal and former IBF middleweight champion, overcame a dodgy start to back his opponent up along the ropes in the third round and connect with a left hook that left Stevens splayed unconscious beneath the ropes.
.@lemieuxboxing knocks @AssassinStevens out cold in round 3. #LemieuxStevens pic.twitter.com/plNMOBxCNU
— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) March 12, 2017
Referee Charlie Fitch quickly waved it off at the 1:59 mark as Stevens (29-6, 21 KOs) was taken from the ring in a stretcher and to the hospital afterward.
The matchup of former Gennady Golovkin victims, two of the middleweight division’s hardest punchers, lifted Lemieux closer to another title shot while pushing Stevens closer to the fringe.
Lemieux, 28, has won three straight since a TKO defeat to Golovkin in October 2015. Potential opponents could include a bout with Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO middleweight title or a big-money showdown with Canelo Álvarez.
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