By Jeff Aronow: Jean Pascal has reportedly tested positive for three banned performance-enhancing drugs, and as a result, the June 6th fight against Badou Jack is now off. There’s no word on whether Pascal’s b-sample has been tested to confirm the positive test results.
We also don’t know if Pascal ate a product that was contained the steroids. I mean, Canelo Alvarez ate contaminated beef in Mexico, which is why he tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.
The two were previously scheduled to fight a 12-round title bout on the undercard of the exhibition match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and YouTuber on Showtime pay-per-view at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports reports the positive test for the 38-year-old WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion Pascal (35-6-1, 20 KOs).
According to Iole, Pascal tested positive for the following steroids:
- Epitrenbolone
- Drostanolone
- Drostanolone Metabolite A
The 37-year-old former two-division world champion Jack (23-3-3, 13 KOs) says he suspected Pascal was using performance-enhancing drugs in his fight with him in December 2019, which he lost by a 12 round split decision.
My fight with @jeanpascalchamp is OFF as he tested positive for 3 different steroids. We suspected he was dirty the first time around and @Vada_testing confirmed it this time.
Iām still fighting on June 6th and my team is looking for a replacement opponent.
Alhamdulillah šš¾ pic.twitter.com/hXIw6LOF8Lā Badou Jack (@BadouJack) May 29, 2021
Despite Badou staying on the Mayweather – Logan card, it will still be a massive loss having Pascal not fighting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao32fUkzDv8
You can argue the Pasal vs. Jack fight was the only quality one on the entire card, including the main event, which easily the worst fight.
Jack will stay on the card to fight a replacement opponent, but you got to figure that they’re not going to find anyone decent. With just nine days to go before June 6th, you can’t expect much.
Jean Pascal is OUT of his June 6 fight with Badou Jack. Failed test for Epitrenbolone, Drostanolone, and Drostanolone Metabolite A.
ā Kevin Iole (@KevinI) May 29, 2021
These would be decent replacement opponents for Badou Jack to fight:
- Marcus Browne
- Anthony Yarde
- Lyndon Arthur
- Callum Johnson
- Joshua Buatsi
- Sergey Kovalev
- Craig Richards
Unfortunately, the odds of Mayweather Promotions getting any of them to fight Badou on short notice are nonexistent.
Even if Mayweather Promotions could get Craig Richards, Browne, Buatsi, or Callum Johnson to take the fight on a week’s notice, he would likely say no to the idea of fighting them.
Badou Jack is over-the-hill at this point in his career, having lost 2 out of his last 3 fights and with virtually no shot of winning a world title at 175.
It’s nice that Mayweather Promotions keeps Badou Jack busy by sticking him on the undercard of the Mayweather-Logan card, but he’s not going to fight anyone good.
If they match Jack against someone decent like Buatsi, Richards, or Callum Johnson, he’ll likely lose.