(Photo Credits: David Spagnolo/Main Events) Jean Pascal (29-3-1, 17 KOs) gave it a game effort tonight, but he just wasn’t able to handle WBA/WBO/IBF light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev’s power, as Kovalev dropped Pascal twice in the process of halting him in the 8th round in their fight on Saturday night on HBO Championship Boxing from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
Pascal visited the canvas in the 4th and the 8th rounds. Referee Luis Pabon pulled the plug in the 8th shortly after Pascal was dropped with a left hook by Kovalev. Pascal sprang to his feet, staggered to the ropes for a last stand. Kovalev then nailed the near defenseless Pascal with two hard right hands to the head that had Pascal’s eyes rolling around in his head. The fight was stopped at 1:03 of the round. Not surprisingly, Pascal protested the stoppage, even while staggering around.