David Lemieux featured on Canelo-Jacobs card

David Lemieux will make his entry into super middleweight when he takes on John “The Gorilla” Ryder in the scheduled 12-round co-main event of the Canelo vs. Jacobs fight card. The event will take place on Saturday, May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be shown live on the streaming service DAZN.

Lemieux, (40-4, 34 KOs) was last seen on the televised pay-per-view undercard of Canelo vs. GGG 2 when he scored a first-round knockout victory against Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan. The Montreal, Canada native promises to be stronger than before in his first super middleweight debut.

“I’ve seen [John] Ryder fight,” said David Lemieux. “He’s a credible rival, but I’m going to make a statement out of what I’m going to do with him. At 168, I’m going to be the strongest that I’ve ever been.”

Ryder (27-4, 15 KOs) is a London native who is currently the No. 1 contender for the WBA Super Middleweight Title. Ryder in terms of opposition includes names such as Rocky Fielding and Billy Joe Saunders. Ryder is coming off a seventh-round stoppage win against previously undefeated Andrey Sirotkin, and he’ll look to retain his shot at the title with a win against Lemieux. Ryder won against Sirotkin by putting him down with a body shot late in the seventh round which Sirotkin couldn’t recover from.

“I’m fully focused on the fight with David Lemieux, but obviously there’s a massive pot of gold for the winner,” said John Ryder. “There’s the potential for a fight with Canelo or a fight with Callum Smith, which are both huge. Lemieux is a big puncher if you stand in front of him. I’m a boxer-fighter. I’ll box him at times and fight him at other times when it suits me. Our fighting styles are sure to gel for a great fight. I’m expecting to win and to win well. I’m there to keep my mandatory position.”