What changed in your training coming to this fight?
Sergey Kovalev: “I did a lot of mistakes in our last fight and right now I try to fix it. I try to be better. It’s a secret about my mistakes and just me and my trainer know about my mistakes. I learned from my first fight. Right now I fix it and try to be creative, do everything exactly correct and try to fight more harder and try to stop Pascal early this time.
“Because I was disappointed in my performance in our last fight against Pascal I want to do this much better, much more clear.
“I felt very comfortable (in last fight). Judge gave to him two rounds, but I didn’t feel I lost these rounds. I just take time, used a lot of jabs and get lot of points with the jab.
“I don’t feel comfortable to make any prediction because it is boxing, anything can happen. It’s not my habit to say, I will, will, will. Because sometimes you say will and something else happens and then you look like a trash talker. You know?
“Pascal is a trash talker. I don’t care what he say because it’s just trash from his mouth. He start speaking trash to (make me) lose my mind and make me nervous; he will pay for this in the ring. Believe me. I am going to make him pay for this.
“It is a more personal fight (because of trash talk).”
Do you want to make him retire?
SK: “I want this, we’ll see. But usually all my opponents stop their career or move their division, but last fight I didn’t finish my job.”
Why fight Pascal again when the first fight seemed so easy?
SK: “First of all, Pascal has said bad things to my side. I have a reason for fighting him. I think Pascal has reason to say thank you to Luis Pabon, the referee for the fight. He forgot to say thank you very much that he saved his health and life maybe. Because he was already “drunk”, you know like spaghetti legs.”
Why fight in Canada?
SK: “I love Canada and Canadian fans. Canada reminds me so much of my home town in Russia. Same atmosphere. Lot of details remember me of my home town and I feel very comfortable in Canada. Big support from Canadian fans. And second thing why I fight in Canada, because Pascal doesn’t want to go to America to fight me or in Russia either. He’s fighting only in his hometown. Ok, I’m ready to kick his ass in his hometown.”
Do you expect to see something different now that Pascal is training with Freddie Roach?
SK: Yes, it gave me new motivation. Because he could bring something new from Freddie Roach. Should be, but we’ll see. It helped me work more, more, more and be ready for what he will bring.
“I want to say thanks to boxing because boxing helped with a lot of terrible things in my life. Boxing saved my life, saved my health. I have a family, I have a son, beautiful wife. Right now I am happy. I have motivation to get more goals.”
John David Jackson: “He has a great work ethic. He kind of choreographs his fights. It’s funny how he does it. It works for him. I let him do what he wants to do. It makes him feel comfortable. He has a routine where he tries to mimic the fight how [he thinks] it’s gonna go about [sic].”
JDJ: “Time will tell [if he will be an icon.] He needs a couple more fights with top quality opponents. You’ve got Ward and Stevenson, and now this Russian kid Beterbiev, who beat Sergey in the amateurs. These are the types of fight that will take him to the next level and make him the superstar that he truly is.”
JDJ: “We put a game-plan together, but he swears up and down there’s no game-plan. We devise a strategy that works for him.”
JDJ: “His physical training and conditioning prior to coming to the gym enables him to go the rounds that he goes and the pace that he sets.”
JDJ: “Right now, he’s still working, but next week we’ll shut the sparring down and we will be at an even pace, but at a level where he’s still aggressive and heavy come fight night.”
