Saunders vs Lemieux

Who won Saunders vs Lemieux?

Billy Joe Saunders beat David Lemieux by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday, December 16th, 2017, at Bell Centre, Montreal.

The scorecards were announced as 117-111, 118-110, 120-108 in favor of winner Billy Joe Saunders.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 160 pounds (11.4 stone or 72.6 kg).

This contest was for the WBO middleweight championship of the world.

Saunders vs Lemieux stats

Back in December 2017, Billy Joe Saunders stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 25 wins, zero losses, and 0 draws.

David Lemieux made his way to the ring with a record of 38 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws.

Billy Joe Saunders was the same age as David Lemieux, at 29 years old.

Saunders had a height advantage of 1 inch over Lemieux. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Billy Joe Saunders fought out of the southpaw stance, while David Lemieux was an orthodox fighter.

Saunders was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 16 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2009, 1 year and 10 months later than Lemieux, whose first professional fight was in 2007. He had fought 22 more professional rounds, totaling 222 compared to Lemieux's 200.

David Lemieux was ranked number 2 by the WBO in the 160lb division.

Saunders vs Lemieux form

Saunders had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 1 of them, going the distance 4 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Willie Monroe Jr on September 16, 2017, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Middleweight championship fight at Copper Box Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Prior to that, he had won against Artur Akavov on December 3, 2016, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Middleweight championship fight at Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Andy Lee on December 19, 2015, by majority decision in their WBO World Middleweight championship fight at Manchester Arena, Manchester.

Before that, he had defeated Yoann Bloyer on July 24, 2015, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Wembley Arena, London.

He had won against Chris Eubank Jr on November 29, 2014, by split decision in their BBBOC British Middleweight and CBC Commonwealth Middleweight championship fight at ExCel Arena, London.

Lemieux had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Marcos Reyes on May 6, 2017, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Prior to that, he had defeated Curtis Stevens on March 11, 2017, by knockout in the 3rd round at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Cristian Fabian Rios on October 22, 2016, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada.

Before that, he had won against Glen Tapia on May 7, 2016, by technical knockout in the 4th round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

He had been beaten by Gennady Golovkin on October 17, 2015, by technical knockout in the 8th round in their IBF World Middleweight, WBC World Middleweight and WBA Super World Middleweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, David Lemieux had been fighting more than Billy Joe Saunders.

Going into this contest, Billy Joe Saunders had last fought 3 months ago, while David Lemieux's last outing had been 7 months and 10 days ago.

Saunders' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 17 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 7 months and 10 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 52 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 10.4 rounds on average.

Lemieux's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 1 month and 29 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 35 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7 rounds on average.

What time did Saunders vs Lemieux start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 3:00 AM UTC at Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada, which was 10:00 PM EST or 7:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 3:00 AM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Saunders vs Lemieux?

Saunders vs Lemieux was broadcast on BoxNation in the UK, while the fight was broadcast in the United States by HBO.

What were the odds on Saunders vs Lemieux?

Billy Joe Saunders was a 73/100 (-140) favorite going into the contest, while David Lemieux made his way into the ring at 1/1 (+100) with oddsmakers.