David Lemieux: I’ll do everyone a favor, get rid of Saunders

Former middleweight titleholder David Lemieux is looking to get back into the title mix on Saturday, when he has home field advantage in Laval, Quebec, facing Billy Joe Saunders in an HBO main event.

Lemieux (38-3, 33 KO) is a knockout artist by trade, an action fighter whom many seem to be favoring over the lighter-hitting Saunders (25-0, 12 KO) in this matchup. And while Lemieux isn’t calling for a KO, he sounds ready to do damage.

“I've never said that I doubted his chin,” Lemieux said at Tuesday’s media workout. “Regardless, he will hit the floor. And whether I win by knockout or go 12 rounds, it's no matter. But I will drop him and I will hurt him.”

Lemieux, 28, has won four straight since his 2015 loss to Gennady Golovkin, beating Glen Tapia, Cristian Rios, Curtis Stevens, and Marcos Reyes. Two of those fights went a 10-round distance, including his most recent over Reyes.

In a bit of trash talk, Lemieux says that many fans in the United Kingdom don’t like the brash fighter coming over to Quebec to defend his belt.

“There are a lot of fans in England who've written to me because they don't like Saunders, and they want me to get rid of him,” he said. “I'll do everyone a favor, I'll take care of him.”