By Jim Dower: Undefeated light heavyweight prospect Ahmed Elbiali (16-0, 13 KOs) weighed in at 178 pounds on Thursday for his 10 round bout against 35-year-old former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (31-5-1, 18 KOs) for their 10 round fight on Friday night at the Hialeah Park Racing & Casino, in Miami, Florida. Pascal also weighed in at 178 lbs.
The Elbiali vs. Pascal fight will be televised on Premier Boxing champions on FS1 on Friday night.
Elbiali is taking a big step up in class in taking on Pascal. Elbiali will have problems if Pascal has anything left in the tank after 12 years as a pro.
Thus far, Elbiali’s best wins have come against these fighters:
• Christopher Brooker
• Andrew Hernandez
• Jackson Junior
• Mariano Hilario
Elbiali looks to be a crude slugger at best. Pascal might still have too much for Elbiali to handle in this fight.
Pascal is on the downside of his career at 34. He lost his last fight to Eleider Alvarez by a 12 round majority decision on June 3 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Pascal has twice been stopped by Sergey Kovalev in the past 2 years. Pascal beat Ricardo Macelo Ramallo by a 3rd round knockout last year on December 16. If Pascal loses to Elbiali, he needs to think about retirement, because this is not a fight that he can afford to lose if he wants to stay relevant in the light heavyweight division.
In other weights on the card, heavyweight contender Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz (27-0, 23 KOs) weighed in at 242.4 lbs. for his 10 round co-feature bout against journeyman Daniel Martz (16-5-1, 13 KOs). Martz, 27, weighed in at 261.6 lbs. This fight should arguably be the main event, because Ortiz at least has a chance to win a world title one of these days. Elbiali is a long shot to become a world champion during his career. Elbiali might become a good contender in the Joe Smith Jr. and Andrzej Fonfara mold, but that’s the extent of it.
2-time Olympic super heavyweight bronze medalist Ivan Dychko (2-0, 2 KOs) weighed in at 245.4 lbs. for his 4-round bout against 39-year-old Mexican journeyman Carlos Sandovol (10-14-1, 6 KOs). The 27-year-old Dychko, 6’9” turned pro on September 29 in beating Aubur Wright by a 1st round knockout. In Dychko’s second fight of his pro career, he defeated Rodriguez Cade by a 3rd round knockout on October 13.
Dychko now lives in Kissimmee, Florida.
Dychko, who comes from Kazakhstan, captured a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics after losing a close fight to Anthony Joshua by a 13-11 score. Some boxing fans believe that Dycho deserved the win over Joshua. However, the fight took place in London, England, and that might have helped Joshua get the win. In the 2016 Olympics, Dychko lost to Silver medalist Joe Joyce. Dychko probably should have turned pro after the 2012 Olympics, but he obviously felt he had a chance to win the gold medal in the 2016 Olympics, so he stuck around.
Bryant Perrella 146.8vs. Alex Martin 146.4
Stephen Fulton 123 vs. Adam Lopez 123
Willie Jones 144.8 vs. Livan Navarro 146.4
Raynell Williams 134 vs. Joshua Zuniga 135.8
Harold Calderon 147 vs. Ariel Vasquez 145.6
Eduardo Perez Diaz 153.4 vs. Noe Lozano 151
Semajay Thomas 144.8 vs. Charles Mulindwa 142.6