David Lemieux has an opponent for his next fight.
The former IBF middleweight champion is moving up to super middleweight to face John Ryder as the co-main event on the Canelo-Jacobs card in Las Vegas on May 4.
“I've seen Ryder fight,” said Lemieux in the press release announcing the fight. “He’s a credible rival, but I’m going to make a statement out of what I’m going to do with him. At 168, I’m going to be the strongest that I’ve ever been.”
Lemieux, a 30-year-old Montreal native, had been reportedly considering moving up a weight class last year but instead stayed at 160 pounds to fight Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan in September. He won that match, part of the undercard for Canelo-GGG II, in a first-round knockout.
The win over O'Sullivan ended up being Lemieux's most recent match, as the Canadian was hospitalized due to dehydration a day ahead of his scheduled bout with Tureano Johnson in December.
Lemieux (40-4, 34 KO) will take on Britain's Ryder (27-4, 15 KO) in a bout that pits a pair of fighters currently enjoying win streaks. London native Ryder is rated No. 1 at 168 pounds by the WBA after defeating Andrey Sirotkin, Jamie Cox and Patrick Nielsen in successive fights.