By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KO’s) re-signed with Yvon Michel this week, and he’s got three fights planned out against #5 IBF, #6 WBA, #10 WBC Sean Monaghan (21-0, 14 KO’s), Lucian Bute (31-2, 24 KO’s) and a title shot against WBC 175lb champion Adonis Stevenson if all goes well with the first two fights of the contract. The fight against the 32-year-old Monaghan would take place in September, and if Pascal wins without suffering an injury, he’ll then face Bute in December.
The rematch against Bute is hardly needed, though, because Pascal easily beat him last January in a one-sided fights, but the fight did well with the Canadian audience, so the rematch will be taking place for that reason. Bute also had an option for a rematch, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. It’s a tough ask trying to get boxing fans interested in seeing a 2nd Bute-Pascal fight because the first one was so one-sided.
Bute looks like he’s totally shot at this point in his career, and he’s not fought ever since his loss to Pascal. If he faces him in September, it’ll be the only two fights Bute takes this year. Compared to how he used to fight, Bute looks nothing like he used to in his prime. The Canadian fans will need to have a lot of belief in Bute for them to want to see a second fight between him and Pascal, because it seems painfully obvious that it’s going to be another mismatch.
I’ll be very surprised if Pascal fights Stevenson next year. Pascal didn’t sound like someone who wanted to fight Stevenson when he was being asked about that fight following his win over Bute last January. My guess is that Pascal, #1 WBC, #3 WBO, #7 IBF, will choose to go in another direction in 2015 rather than face Stevenson.
If the Canadian fans are willing to pay to see him fight Bute again, it’s likely that those two will keep fighting each other and end up facing each other three or four more times before the fans finally wise up and stop showing interest in paying to see them. It was enough for me seeing them fight once to never want to see them fight again.
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