It was supposed to be a showcase for his official entry at super middleweight, but instead David Lemiex went life and death with Max Bursak over ten rounds.

Lemieux was dropped in the first round. And then again in the fifth. He came back to drop Bursak in the sixth.

At the end, won a razor-thin split decision, with two scores of 94-93, and the third judge scoring 94-93 for Bursak.

If the Lemieux's first bout since September of 2018, when he knocked out Spike O'Sullivan in one round.

Heading into the Bursak clash, Lemieux had a single round of activity since May of 2018.

The obvious ring rust was on display for the former IBF middleweight champion.

"After the first round, I told him not to panic because it was not the first time that we were going through this," revealed his coach Marc Ramsay to RDS.

"I explained to him that we still had nine rounds left, but that we absolutely had to reorganize [what was going on]. It was very complicated... “It was a catch-up fight where we were forced to force the pace much faster than we had in mind. It forced us to change the way David presented himself to him. I wanted something beautiful around the jab, but it was no longer possible.

“ It was really the worst nightmare for a boxer who had not boxed for a long time. At one point, David was trying too hard to hurt him and he was not planning his attacks well. But as such, I think David needs another fight of this caliber. David hadn't boxed for a long time and that played a trick on us."

Lemieux's co-promoter is also very calm and expects a much better performance in the next fight.

"David has a big heart like the city and there are not many guys who would have come back from this," added promoter Camille Estephan.

"David was facing a guy who could punch and who was fierce - and despite that, he came back [in the fight]. That's why people love him so much.

"I knew that I shouldn't expect miracles after fifteen months of inactivity, but Marc wanted rounds and that's what he got. But as soon as David resumed his timing , he had the upper hand completely. It took five rounds because his timing was bad."