By Ian S Palmer
The Bell Centre in Montreal will be the site of the WBO/IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight title bout this Saturday, March 14 as undefeated champion Sergey Kovalev of Russia takes on Jean Pascal of Haiti. Pascal is a two-time former champion who now fights out of Montreal and will undoubtedly have the hometown support behind him. The 12-round bout can be seen in the U.S. on HBO while Canadian fans will have to dish out for pay per view.
The 32-year-old Pascal will enter the ring with an impressive record of 29-2-1 with 17 Kos. He has a 72-inch reach and stands 5-feet-11-inches tall. Pascal is strong and generally aggressive with a decent amount of power in his fists, but isn’t considered a knockout artist. He has a pretty good chin and speed to go along with his skills. He’s been in the ring with some of the best light heavyweights out there such as Adrian Diaconu, Carl Froch, Chad Dawson, Lucian Bute and Bernard Hopkins with his two defeats coming to Froch and Hopkins by decisions.
Pascal usually lets his hands go, but didn’t do so against Hopkins and paid for it. He likes to put the pressure on his opponents and possesses pretty good footwork. His knockouts usually come later on in fights after he’s worn his opponent down for several rounds. If he lands one square on the chin though he’s got enough power to drop most fighters. He’s somewhat underrated and should be able to give the champion a decent run for his money as long as his chin and body can handle Kovalev’s attack.
The 31-year-old Kovalev has a perfect mark of 26-0 along with 23 Kos to his name. He has a 72.5-inch reach and is 6-feet tall. As his record indicates, Kovalev is a KO artist and has enough power in his fists to drop opponents with both body and head shots. He’s an exceptional offensive boxer who also has a good defence and a solid chin. He likes to establish his snapping jab and punches in flurries rather than depending on one big shot. He had to go the distance to beat Hopkins last year and that could be the case again here against Pascal.
Pascal should be considered Kovalev’s toughest opponent to date and the reasons for this are his style and chin. If he can take Kovalev’s big shots and land enough of his own this will be a dramatic fight that could come down to a close decision. It will be hard for Pascal to keep the champion off of him though since he doesn’t really have the power to keep him at bay. Pascal’s best rounds should come early and once the fight hits the second half he will struggle to keep up.
Prediction
For Pascal to win the titles he’s going to have to outwork Kovalev and keep him on the back foot. It might work early on, but Kovalev will eventually wade in and start to break him down with punishing shots. There’s a good chance this fight will go the distance and there could also be a late stoppage. Either way, look for Kovalev to retain the titles.
