David Lemieux scored his 40th victory and 34th by knockout in the very first round over Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan in their World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight title eliminator fight.

There was a lot of bad blood heading into the bout, with Lemieux saying “I want to cut off his head, he’s a very disrespectful guy … he does not have class.”

Lemieux also added before the fight “His style and aggressiveness will come to me, but I am more powerful. He is strong but nothing more than that, I will not have any problem.”

He backed up his words to “not have mercy” as he landed a left hook to the chin of Sullivan near the end of the very first round that put him down and out. 

Their bout was broadcast live on HBO Pay Per View from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – which is very fitting considering the WBA Super World Title was on the line in the main event on the very same card.