David Lemieux announces retirement from boxing

David Lemieux has announced his retirement from boxing at age 33, less than three months after a loss to David Benavidez in an interim WBC super middleweight title fight.

Lemieux (43-5, 36 KO) has been on our screens for quite a long time now, becoming a power-punching attraction in his native Montreal as a prospect, where his rise was regularly featured on ESPN Friday Night Fights.

He had his setbacks before reaching the bigger stages, but won the IBF middleweight title against Hassan N’Dam in 2015, one of the most exciting and compelling fights of a career that feature a lot of highlights.

Along the way, he battled with Gennadiy Golovkin and Billy Joe Saunders in world title fights, scored a thunderous knockout win over Curtis Stevens in 2017, and gave fans a lot of entertainment.

In his final fight, Lemieux was out-gunned by Benavidez, a younger top contender at 168 lbs, but he once again earned a mountain of respect for his incredibly brave performance, never giving up on the fight before it was rightly stopped in round five.

“I’ve accomplished a lot in the course of my career; I achieved my dream of becoming world champion, I’ve given the fans rousing fights by accepting every challenge that came my way. I devoted my life to training, to boxing, and now I want to cherish every minute with my family,” Lemieux said.

“I accomplished a lot, but I didn’t do it alone. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the fans who supported and encouraged me throughout my career. Thank you to the Eye of the Tiger Management team, especially Camille and Marc, two exceptional men.”

“David is the kind of guy that people love because he’s authentic and his heart is big as the province of Quebec,” said EOTTM’s Camille Estephan. “He’s someone who’ll take a challenge head-on, something he’s done throughout his career.

“He has all my respect for what he’s accomplished and even more so today as he retires at the peak of health, instead of clinging to the past. He’s chosen to retire at the right moment and I want to thank him for everything.”

“With a lot of nostalgia but just as much pride, today I accept David’s decision to retire. I remember the 10-year-old kid who’d go train every day at Russ Anber’s old gym with resolve and determination,” trainer Marc Ramsay added. “It is this tenacity that, a few years later, led him to the peak of success in the world of boxing. I can state beyond the shadow of a doubt that David is one of the boxers that I enjoyed training the most in my career. We worked so hard, but we had so much fun doing it.

“I’m so proud of our journey together, proud of the accomplishments, proud of the person he’s become, proud that he’s retiring healthy and unscathed, and above all, proud of the path he has chosen to follow with his family.”