Hopkins-Pascal: Bernard wants the rematch to be in the U.S, not Canada

By Boxing News - 02/27/2011 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Having failed to beat WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal the first time around last December, 46-year-old Bernard Hopkins has been given another shot at trying to beat Pascal by the WBC, who ordered the rematch, and is making Chad Dawson wait a little while longer to get his rematch with Pascal. If Hopkins can’t do it this time, he needs to move on and look for some other fights because he blew it last time out by getting knocked down twice and having to settle for a draw.

The Hopkins-Pascal II fight still doesn’t have a venue. Hopkins’s promoters from Golden Boy Promotions won the purse bid for the fight, which means that they can have the fight take place in the United States if that’s their prerogative. The last time the fight was held in Quebec, Canada, where it drew a lot of fans. Hopkins wants the fight to be held in the U.S., saying this in an interview at the Philadelphia Daily News: “I fought the last fight in Pascal’s country. Let him come here this time. We won the purse bid, so we get to call the shots.”

That may be but Hopkins isn’t a big draw in the U.S, and never really has been. So unless they’re interested in putting the Hopkins-Pascal II fight on in front of 3000 fans compared to 10,000+ for a fight between them in Canada, I’d suggest that the fight be held in Canada instead of the United States. That’s where they’ll be able to maximize the amount of money they can bring in because Pascal is a huge star in Canada, and can sell tickets. Unfortunately, Hopkins isn’t a big ticket seller in America.



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