WBC News: Pascal vs. Hopkins

WORLD BOXING COUNCIL NEWS

December 15, 2010 – Mexico City.

From the office of WBC President Dr. José Sulaimán:

WBC President José Sulaimán will be in Quebec City to personally present the WBC Diamond Belt to the winner of the WBC light heavyweight world championship fight between defending champion Jean Pascal and WBC Emeritus champion Bernard Hopkins on December 18.

The WBC Board of Governors approved this fight for the WBC Diamond Belt, which was created for fights between elite champions, at the recent WBC convention in Cancun. Pascal has proven himself to be a great champion and a sports hero in Canada, and the highly-deserving Hopkins made a record 20 successful defenses of the middleweight world title and defeated the best of his time.

This historic fight is promoted by Group Yvon Michel and Golden Boy Promotions, and will have a capacity crowd of over 16,000 in attendance.

It is only the second fight – ever – for the WBC Diamond Belt. The first was won by Manny Pacquiao against Miguel Cotto in November, 2009.

The WBC representative will be Robert Lenhardt.

WBC STATISTICS

WBC Light Heavyweight World Championship and WBC Diamond Belt

Pepsi Coliseum – Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

December 18, 2010

This will be the 1,841st fight sanctioned by the WBC in its 48-year history.

GROUPE YVON MICHEL AND GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS PRESENT:

JEAN PASCAL (Haiti/Canada)

WBC Light Heavyweight World Champion

Age, date of birth: 28 (October 28, 1982)

Birthplace: Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

Residence: Laval, Quebec, Canada

Professional record: 26-1, 16 KOs

Stance: Righthanded

Total rounds: 182

World title fights: 5 (4-1)

Promoter: Groupe Yvon Michel

BERNARD “The Executioner” HOPKINS (US)

WBC Emeritus Light Heavyweight Champion

Age, date of birth: 45 (January 15, 1965)

Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Residence: Hockessing, Delaware

Professional record: 51-5-1, 1 NC, 32 KOs

Stance: Righthanded

Total rounds: 418

World title fights: 25 (21-3-1)

Promoter: Golden Boy Promotions

WBC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONS:

1. Harold Johnson (US)

2. Willie Pastrano (US)

3. Jose Torres (P. Rico)

4. Dick Tiger (Nigeria)

5. Bob Foster (US)

6. John Conteh (GB)

7. Miguel Angel Cuello (Arg)

8. Mate Parlov (Yugoslavia)

9. Marvin Johnson (US)

10. Matthew Saad Muhammad (US)

11. Dwight Muhammad Qawi (US)

12. Michael Spinks (US)

13. J.B. Williamson (US)

14. Dennis Andries (GB)

15. Thomas Hearns (US)

16. Don Lalonde (Can)

17. Ray Leonard (US)

18. Dennis Andries (GB) *

19. Jeff Harding (Australia)

20. Dennis Andries (GB) *

21. Jeff Harding (Australia) *

22. Mike McCallum (Jamaica)

23. Fabrice Tiozzo (Fra)

24. Roy Jones Jr. (US)

25. Montell Griffin (US)

26. Graciano Rocchigiani (Germany) (Interim)

27. Roy Jones (US) *

28. Antonio Tarver (US)

29. Roy Jones Jr. (US) *

30. Antonio Tarver (US) *

31. Tomasz Adamek (Poland)

32. Chad Dawson (US)

33. Adrian Diaconu (Romania/Canada)

34. Jean Pascal (Haiti/Canada)

35. Chad Dawson (US) Interim *

* Regained

WBC TOP 10

1. Roy Jones Jr.

2. Jean Pascal

3. Michael Spinks

4. Bob Foster

5. Mike McCallum

6. Chad Dawson

7. Dick Tiger

8. Jose Torres

9. Willie Pastrano

10. Matthew Saad Muhammad

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC:

28 light heavyweight world champions have been recognized by the WBC, of whom only five have regained the title: Dennis Andries (GB), Jeff Harding (Australia), Roy Jones Jr. (US), Antonio Tarver (US), Chad Dawson (US).

Bob Foster (US) holds the record for light heavyweight world title defenses with 14.

108 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD TITLE BOUTS HAVE BEEN HELD IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC.

THIS IS THE 8TH LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD TITLE FIGHT WHICH HAS TAKEN PLACE IN CANADA IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC.

WORLD LIGHT HEAVWEIGHT TITLE BOUTS BY COUNTRY IN WBC HISTORY:

USA: 69

England: 10

Canada: 7

Australia: 5

France: 4

Germany: 3

Trinidad & Tobago: 2

Italy: 2

Yugoslavia: 1

South Africa: 1

Romania: 1

Puerto Rico: 1

Monaco: 1

Denmark: 1

Total Fights: 108

WBC WORLD TITLE BOUTS HELD IN CANADA:

17 world title bouts have been held in Canada in WBC history.

7 world title bouts in the light heavyweight division have been held in Canada in WBC history.

BREAKDOWN BY DIVISION:

Light heavy: 7

Super middle: 6

Welter: 2

Heavy: 1

Super light: 1

Total bouts: 17

WBC WORLD TITLE FIGHTS IN CANADA:

Mar. 29, 1966 Muhammad Ali W15 George Chuvalo, Toronto – H

Sep. 21, 1973 Jose Napoles W15 Clyde Gray, Toronto – W

May 11, 1980 Matthew Saad Muhammad TKO5 Louis Pergaud, Halifax – LH

Jun. 20, 1980 Roberto Duran W15 Ray Leonard, Montreal – W

Nov. 25, 1983 Michael Spinks TKO10 Oscar Rivadeneyra, Vancouver – LH

Dec. 15, 2000 Dave Hilton W12 Dingaan Thobela, Montreal – SM

Jul. 10, 2001 Eric Lucas KO7 Glenn Catley, Montreal – SM

Nov. 30, 2001 Eric Lucas KO8 Dingaan Thobela, Montreal – SM

Sep. 6, 2002 Eric Lucas W12 Omar Sheika, Montreal – SM

Dec. 20, 2003 Danny Green TKO6 Eric Lucas (Interim), Montreal – SM

Apr. 8, 2006 Libardo Andrade TKO7 Otis Grant (Eliminator), Montreal – SM

May 9, 2007 Adrian Diaconu TKO3 Rico Hoye (Eliminator), Montreal – LH

Apr. 4, 2009 Timothy Bradley W12 Kendall Holt, Montreal, SL

Jun. 19, 2009 Jean Pascal W12 Adrian Diaconu, Montreal – LH

Sep. 25, 2009 Jean Pascal TKO10 Silvio Branco, Montreal – LH

Dec. 11, 2009 Jean Pascal W12 Adrian Diaconu, Montreal – LH

Aug. 14, 2010 Jean Pascal TW11 Chad Dawson,Montreal – LH (Absolute Title)

WBC Statistics by Luis Medina.