David Lemieux Conquers Hassan N’Dam to Capture Middleweight Title

Exciting middleweight David Lemieux was sensational on Saturday night as he dominated opponent Hassan N’Dam over 12 rounds to capture the vacant IBF 160-pound title.

Lemieux electrified his hometown crowd at the Bell Centre in Montreal with a dazzling performance where he won a unanimous decision in a battle that was more exciting than advertised.

Lemieux knocked down N’Dam four times in the fight -- once in the second, twice in the fifth and again in the seventh -- to win the judges’ verdict. But with how close every round was in the contest, Lemieux needed every knockdown because rounds-wise, the duel was about as close as they come. He won via tallies of 115-109 (twice) and 114-110, only the fourth time in his career that he had gone the distance with an opponent.

N’Dam, who hails from France, was as resilient as ever and proved how much heart he has. He was previously felled five times against Peter Quillin and has never been knocked out in his career. N’Dam (31-2, 18 KOs) never stopped trying against Lemieux in the fight, but the knockdowns spelled doom for the Cameroon native.

With the win, Lemieux improved to 34-2 with 31 knockouts and said afterward that he wants the best of the best at middleweight. This was his ninth straight win after dropping back-to-back fights in 2011.