Billy Joe Saunders was in rare form on Saturday night, defeating David Lemieux via unanimous decision (Photo: Matt Heasley-Hogan Photos)

By Chris Robinson

On Saturday night, Dec. 16, WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (26-0, 12 KOs) outpointed hometown favorite and former champion David Lemieux (38-4, 33 KOs) to successfully defend the WBO Middleweight World Championship in the 12-round main event of HBO World Championship Boxing at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, Canada.

A native of the United Kingdom, Saunders easily outboxed Lemieux for 12 rounds from his southpaw stance to win via unanimous decision, with scorecards reading 120-108, 118-110, and 117-111.

Speaking after his big win, Saunders seemed to know what to expect ahead of time.

“I knew what sort of fighter David Lemieux is, and I knew what sort of coach he’s got,” said Saunders. “I knew what he was coming for. I look easy to hurt, but you can’t hit me. I like going to somebody’s backyard because I perform better. I’m a whole different animal now. When I hurt David, I wanted to put it on him. I really did, but that’s what I pay my trainer Dominic Ingle to do. I went to put it on him, but he told me to take my time, and that was the best advice.”

As for Lemieux, the former champion will now have to go back to the drawing board.

“I wasn’t at my best. Hats off to Billy Joe [Saunders],” said Lemieux. “From the second round on, I could not use my left hand the way I wanted, and he was on the run, so I had a hard time throwing my shots. It wasn’t my best night. A lot of this was because of me, because I couldn’t use my left hand the way I wanted to. He was running from the first round to the end, and I guess that’s his strategy to win. If this is the way you want to win, then congratulations.”

Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com