SERGEY KOVALEV vs JEAN PASCAL; Pascal, Forces Corner Stoppage (HBO Boxing Match Highlights)
- 8 years ago
Sergey Kovalev ruthlessly beat down Jean Pascal for the 2nd time in less than a year, this time forcing Freddie Roach to call off the fight himself.
Last year, consensus # 1 light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs) went into Jean Pascal's (30-4-1-1 NC, 17 KOs)hometown of Montreal and stopped the Canadian in the 9th round of an entertaining contest. Their first fight was competitive but neither particularly close nor indicative that Pascal would be able to win a rematch, but a rematch happened anyway because it's one of the few big money fights in the division. Once again it was held at the Bell Centre, televised on HBO Boxing, but this time the Russian delivered an even more brutal beating.
Pascal was dropped in the 1st round with a stinging Kovalev jab, but the referee incorrectly ruled it as a slip. Kovalev had the upper hand through 3 rounds, with Pascal only finding success in pockets but otherwise looking even more outclassed than he was in their first matchup. In round 5, Kovalev's body shots made Pascal grimace in pain and he unleashed a full round's worth of relentless attacking. Pascal was on wobbly legs, holding on for dear life, but still able to avoid falling to the canvas. Compubox had Kovalev outlanding Pascal 31-1 in the 5th, and Freddie Roach threatened to stop the fight if Pascal didn't show any signs of improvement in the 6th. Kovalev continued to methodically beat up Pascal, Roach was going to call it off, but Pascal successfully begged for one more round. The request was granted, the situation didn't get any better, and realizing that "anything can happen" apparently only exists in MMA, Roach decided to stop it at the end of the 7th. It genuinely could've been stopped after the 5th.
You can watch the highlights of this one-sided mauling at the top of the page. Kovalev remains undefeated and continues to assert his dominance at 175 lbs. The expectation is that he will fight Andre Ward in late 2016, as is part of Ward's three-fight contract with HBO. Ward is scheduled to fight Sullivan Barrera in March.
As for reigning WBO/IBF/WBA champion Kovalev, his intense dislike of Pascal, which Jean claims is racially motivated, didn't simmer down in the post-fight interview.
"This was a personal fight, because Pascal is a special person. I mean that he is not polite with anybody. He doesn't respect fighters. He doesn't respect anybody. In Montreal, everyone said to me, kick his ass," Kovalev said.
"I wanted to extend the rounds and punish him more. I stopped him before the eighth round. He lost the bet. $50,000. I don't respect him at all, and I never will."
(Quotes via Bad Left Hook)
He also said he'd like to fight WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, whom he called "Adonis Chickenson" before making duck noises at the Canadian power-puncher. Stevenson went into the ring and tried to cut a decent promo and failed miserably. He's managed/"advised" by Al Haymon of PBC fame, so the odds of this fight happening are slim and none, and especially if they're angling for a ridiculous joint PPV with HBO-Showtime. Kovalev vs. Ward is a far more high-stakes fight anyway, so cross your fingers that we get that this year.
Last year, consensus # 1 light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs) went into Jean Pascal's (30-4-1-1 NC, 17 KOs)hometown of Montreal and stopped the Canadian in the 9th round of an entertaining contest. Their first fight was competitive but neither particularly close nor indicative that Pascal would be able to win a rematch, but a rematch happened anyway because it's one of the few big money fights in the division. Once again it was held at the Bell Centre, televised on HBO Boxing, but this time the Russian delivered an even more brutal beating.
Pascal was dropped in the 1st round with a stinging Kovalev jab, but the referee incorrectly ruled it as a slip. Kovalev had the upper hand through 3 rounds, with Pascal only finding success in pockets but otherwise looking even more outclassed than he was in their first matchup. In round 5, Kovalev's body shots made Pascal grimace in pain and he unleashed a full round's worth of relentless attacking. Pascal was on wobbly legs, holding on for dear life, but still able to avoid falling to the canvas. Compubox had Kovalev outlanding Pascal 31-1 in the 5th, and Freddie Roach threatened to stop the fight if Pascal didn't show any signs of improvement in the 6th. Kovalev continued to methodically beat up Pascal, Roach was going to call it off, but Pascal successfully begged for one more round. The request was granted, the situation didn't get any better, and realizing that "anything can happen" apparently only exists in MMA, Roach decided to stop it at the end of the 7th. It genuinely could've been stopped after the 5th.
You can watch the highlights of this one-sided mauling at the top of the page. Kovalev remains undefeated and continues to assert his dominance at 175 lbs. The expectation is that he will fight Andre Ward in late 2016, as is part of Ward's three-fight contract with HBO. Ward is scheduled to fight Sullivan Barrera in March.
As for reigning WBO/IBF/WBA champion Kovalev, his intense dislike of Pascal, which Jean claims is racially motivated, didn't simmer down in the post-fight interview.
"This was a personal fight, because Pascal is a special person. I mean that he is not polite with anybody. He doesn't respect fighters. He doesn't respect anybody. In Montreal, everyone said to me, kick his ass," Kovalev said.
"I wanted to extend the rounds and punish him more. I stopped him before the eighth round. He lost the bet. $50,000. I don't respect him at all, and I never will."
(Quotes via Bad Left Hook)
He also said he'd like to fight WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, whom he called "Adonis Chickenson" before making duck noises at the Canadian power-puncher. Stevenson went into the ring and tried to cut a decent promo and failed miserably. He's managed/"advised" by Al Haymon of PBC fame, so the odds of this fight happening are slim and none, and especially if they're angling for a ridiculous joint PPV with HBO-Showtime. Kovalev vs. Ward is a far more high-stakes fight anyway, so cross your fingers that we get that this year.