By Ian S Palmer
Jean Pascal of Haiti will be defending his WBA Light Heavyweight Title and WBC Silver Light Heavyweight Belts this Saturday, December 28th when he meets Sweden’s Badou Jack in Atlanta, Georgia. The 12-round bout can be seen live in America on Showtime. Pascal won the titles in August when he beat former champ Marcus Browne via an eighth-round technical decision. Jack’s last outing was also against Browne when he dropped a unanimous decision in January.
The 37-year-old Pascal, who fights out of Quebec, Canada, retired last year and then decided against it and it turns out it was a wise move. He’ll be entering the ring with a record of 34-6-1 with 20 Kos. He’s a three-time champion at light heavyweight who stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 72-inch reach. He’s strong and generally aggressive with a decent amount of power in his fists. He isn’t considered a knockout artist though as his KO ratio currently stands at 47.6 per cent.
Pascal has a pretty good chin and speed to go along with his skills even though he was stopped by Sergey Kovalev in 2015 and again in 2016. He’s been in the ring with some fine light heavyweights and super middleweights such as Kovalev, Adrian Diaconu, Carl Froch, Chad Dawson, Lucian Bute, Bernard Hopkins and Eleider Alvarez with his other four defeats coming to Froch, Hopkins, Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol by decisions.
Pascal usually lets his hands go and pressures his opponents while displaying pretty good footwork. His knockouts usually come after he’s worn his opponent down for several rounds but he has enough power to drop anyone if he lands one square on the chin. He has plenty of experience with 309 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2005.
The 36-year-old Jack fights out of Las Vegas and owns a record of 22-2-3. He’s a a former WBC Super Middleweight Titleholder who then won the WBA Light Heavyweight Title by stopping Nathan Cleverly in the fifth round in August of 2017. Jack possesses a good jab, decent and underrated power and is a good counterpuncher. He’s not a spectacular boxer, but is a very solid one. His only other loss came at the hands of Derek Edwards in an upset via a first-round stoppage in February of 2014.
As for his draws, he fought to a majority draw with Adonis Stevenson in a shot at the WBC Light Heavyweight crown in may, 2018 and also drew with James DeGale over 12 rounds in January, 2017 in an IBF and WBC Super Middleweight Title tilt and fought to a 10-round draw with Marco Antonio Periban in September of 2013. Jack’s best wins have been over Cleverly, George Groves, Lucian Bute, Anthony Dirrell and Rogelio Medina.
Jack has as habit of dropping his hands and sometimes lunging in and he’ll need to keep these traits to a minimum against Pascal or pay the consequences. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall and has a 73-inch reach which gives him a two-inch height advantage and one-inch edge in reach on Pascal. Jack’s a former Olympian who has boxed 171 rounds since turning pro in 2009. He has a solid chin as well as plenty of heart and determination and carries around a knockout ratio of 48.2 per cent.
Prediction…
Both boxers are closer to 40 years old than 30 but still have plenty to offer, making this a fine matchup. It’s an even contest which will probably go to the guy who takes the initiative and lets his hands go for all 12 rounds. It’s a close call but I’m going with Jack to bounce back from his loss to Browne with a win.
