Jean Pascal to battle Yunieski Gonzalez on Kovalev-Mohammedi card on July 25th

By Boxing News - 05/29/2015 - Comments

pascal34By Allan Fox: #5 WBC, #7 WBO, #8 IBF, #8 WBA light heavyweight contender Jean Pascal (29-3-1, 17 KOs) will be back inside the ring two months from now against #12 WBC fringe contender Yunieski Gonzalez (16-0, 12 KOs) on the undercard of the Sergey Kovalev va. Nadjib Mohammedi fight card at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

The 32-year-old Pascal is looking to stay active with his career after getting stopped in the 8th round in his last fight against IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev last March in a competitive fight.

Pascal gave Kovalev a lot of problems before getting taken out on his feet in the 8th.

Gonzalez, who originally came from Cuba, has been knocking out most of his opponents during his short 5-year pro career. He’s not particularly fast of hand or feet though, and that will no doubt give Pascal a huge advantage in this fight.

Gonzalez definitely has good punching power, but he’s not faced anyone similar to Pascal in terms of talent. It’s a big step up in class for Gonzalez and he might not be ready for it because the guys he’s been facing don’t have Pascal’ hand speed or talent.

“I’m eager to get back in the ring,” said Pascal. “The years where I have been very active are the ones that I’ve performed the best. Gonzalez is a good fighter and everybody knows I am not content with fighting just a regular fighter. I’m already back in the gym and focusing on July 25.”

Gonzalez is kind of a slow plodder, and he’s done well against the guys that have stood directly in front of him. He’s going to likely have problems with Pascal’s hand speed, and his defensive ability. Pascal doesn’t stand flat footed in front of his opponents the way Gonzalez’s opponents have. For Gonzalez to get his shots off, he’s going to need to cut off the ring and force Pascal to fight him.

Gonzalez doesn’t have the height and reach of Pascal’s last opponent Kovalev, and that’s going to make it really hard on him to try and do the things that Kovalev was able to do against him.

Many of Gonzalez’s knockout wins have come before the 3rd round. This could make it difficult for him in terms of stamina if he’s not able to get to Pascal early in the fight. It could go deep into the bout and that likely will expose Gonzalez’s lack of stamina if he’s still around by then.



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