Saturday’s HBO World Championship Boxing doubleheader telecast begins at 9:45 p.m. (ET/PT). Opening up the telecast from the Bell Centre in Montreal is a 10-round welterweight matchup between Dmitry Mikhaylenko and Karim Mayfield. The main event of the evening, a 12-round light heavyweight championship rematch, features knockout artist Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev defending his titles against Jean Pascal in his back yard.
Official Weights from Montreal:
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev: 174.6 lbs.
Jean Pascal: 174.3 lbs.
Dmitry Mikhaylenko: 146.7 lbs.
Karim Mayfield: 147 lbs.
The camps of Unified world light-heavyweight Champion Sergey Kovalev and challenger Jean Pascal have clashed ahead of their rematch this Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, televised exclusively live in the UK on BoxNation.
There is genuine hatred between both fighters in the build up to the return – Kovalev won the first fight with an eighth round stoppage in March last year – and it could be even spicier second time around with Kovalev’s WBO, IBF and WBA Super World titles on the line again.
At the pre-fight press this week it turned nasty when Pascal started handing out bananas to black members of the audience, including Kovalev’s trainer John David Jackson, a former two-weight world champion, who had to be restrained from going after Paschal by security guards.
This was in response to alleged racist comments made by Kovalev to Pascal when he said, “I’m going to whoop your black ass.” Pascal said, “That’s a racist comment. He called me a piece of (expletive) because I’m black. He didn’t say that to any white fighter.”
“Do you want to keep it for your black coach?” Said Pascal to Kovalev as he held up a banana. “Black people, do you want some?”
Russian ace Kovalev dismissed Pascal’s comments when it was his turn to speak on the podium. He said, “Everybody knows what is true,” Kovalev said. “But you will see on Saturday. It will be a personal fight for me.”
Jackson defended his charge, saying he wouldn’t be working Kovalev’s corner if he was a racist. “It’s not about race. Sergey may say things where at the time when he says them, they may come out wrong, but if he was racist, I wouldn’t be in his corner.”
Canadian Pascal, a former WBC World Champion at light-heavyweight, continued his rant accusing Jackson of only coming into the Kovalev camp a few weeks before the fight because Kovalev doesn’t trust him.
“He (Kovalev) came to you for three weeks before the fight. He don’t trust you because you’re black. He doesn’t respect you.” Said Pascal.
Jackson fired back, “Is that all? Why is Marc [Ramsey, Pascal’s former trainer] not here. Because he knows you’re getting knocked out in this fight. That’s why he’s not here. No other reason. He told you you’re gonna get knocked out this fight. Yeah, put the mic away now, because that’s true. You know that’s true. That’s why you’re stuck right here.”
With security called in to calm the camps down, Jackson said to Pascal, “Shut the **** up, you had your time” and challenged him to a fight outside. “Come outside and you’ll get knocked out.”
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Category
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Sergey “The Krusher” Kovalev
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Jean Pascal
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Age
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31
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33
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Record
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28-0-1 (25 KOs)
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30-3-1 (17 KOs)
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Strength
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Kovalev has shown time and time again that he can knock anyone out with any punch he throws. He has also shown that he can take a punch just as well as he can throw one. He withstood some major shots in the first bout with Pascal, which ultimately ended any doubt about his chin.
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Pascal is a gamer in every sense of the word. He is a crowd-pleasing fighter with good hand speed when he puts his punches together. He has good power in both hands and a good chin. He has competed against the division’s top fighters since 2008, before Sergey even made his pro debut.
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Weakness
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Kovalev tends to leave openings in his guard which allows him to get hit. He has a fearless style that could get him into trouble with the power that Pascal brings when he decides to put his punches together.
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Jean has a tendency to turn a boxing match into a slugfest which could be a dangerous move against the heavy-handed Krusher, but this is something Freddie Roach, Pascal’s new trainer, has said he aims to improve.
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Experience
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Kovalev has not been on the world stage as long as Pascal, but he has beaten two world champions (Bernard Hopkins and Nathan Cleverly) and two former world champions (Gabriel Campillo and Jean Pascal).
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Pascal may still have a slight experience advantage. He has been in eight major title fights, and holds victories over Chad Dawson and Lucian Bute.
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Power
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Krusher has unbelievable power in both hands. He throws every punch with bad intentions and puts together impressive combinations. He is also a very effective body puncher; he has ended a number of fights with shots to the midsection.
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Although Pascal possesses solid power in both hands, he cannot match Sergey’s power. The Krusher has solidified his spot as the heaviest hitter in the light heavyweight division.
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Speed
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Kovalev has good hand speed that picks up once he smells blood and goes for the finish. He delivers a nasty onslaught of punches that has proven to overwhelm his opposition.
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Pascal’s speed becomes more noticeable during his flurries of punches. He really turns it on when he has his opponent hurt and delivers a relentless attack that has proven effective in the past.
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Endurance
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Sergey has only fought 12 rounds once in his career. He defeated former multi-division champion Bernard Hopkins in 2014 in a 12-round unanimous decision.
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Pascal has been 12 rounds on nine separate occasions. His previous fight went the distance and he earned a decision win over previously unbeaten Yunieski Gonzalez.
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Accuracy
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Sergey shows great accuracy with the long-range aggressive style that he utilizes. He possesses very accurate and powerful body shots as well.
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Pascal does not utilize his jab as well at times and tends to get somewhat wild when unloading flurries of punches. However, he has an overhand right that be a game-changer if landed flush.
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Defense
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Sergey’s primary strength is his offense which has been established as his best defense. He likes to stalk his opposition, however, which can lead to him taking unnecessary shots from his opponents.
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Pascal does not move around the ring as well. He likes to stand in front of his opposition and let his hands go. Sometimes this can become his best defense, but led to his demise in his first bout with Krusher.
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Chin
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Kovalev has been knocked down twice in his career, but he has risen to the occasion both times to finish the fight. He also recovered well against Pascal after taking some thunderous shots from the former champion.
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Jean has a really good chin and is willing to stand and trade with the division’s best and most powerful punchers. He has been in with many great fighters throughout his career, and has only been stopped once in his career. However, that knockout came from Kovalev just last year.
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Style
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Kovalev is an offensive power-puncher who likes to buzz saw through his opponents. He likes to walk his opponents down utilizing a long-range aggressive style until he smells blood and can go for the finish.
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Pascal is an aggressive fighter that will not hesitate to stand and trade with anyone. His fearless fighting style has kept him atop the light heavyweight division for many years.
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Intangibles
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Kovalev wants to leave no doubt in the minds of those who question who is the best light heavyweight in the world. He has opted to defend his titles in a rematch of the toughest bout of his career against former titleholder Jean Pascal. Not only will he be rematching the highly ranked light heavyweight, but he has agreed to do it in Pascal’s backyard once again.
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Pascal refuses to take days off in the ring. His most recent bout was against former undefeated and ranked prospect Yunieski Gonzalez. After earning a decision in that bout, and handing the young up-and-comer the first loss of his career, he has decided to get right back at it against the division’s best and hardest hitter in Sergey Kovalev.
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Crowd Support
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Kovalev will, once again, march into enemy territory as he fights in Jean Pascal’s backyard. Also, because there is still bad blood between these two stemming from their last fight, expect the fans to be even more hostile towards the champion.
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Pascal will have the clear crowd-support advantage as he fights in front of his home crowd. Expect the Canadian fans will be heavily on his side.
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The Match-up:
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