By Allan Fox: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) showed anger an annoyance at his final press conference for Saturday’s fight against Jean Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KOs) at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Pascal hit the race card button by calling the 32-year-old Kovalev a racist, and he didn’t care for that comment too much. Kovalev said “Everybody knows what is true, but you will see on Saturday. It will be a personal fight for me.”
Pascal, 33, seems to be trying to gain an edge over Kovalev by trying to work him up by calling him a racist. I’m not sure if it’s going to work out well enough for Pascal to get a victory though. Kovalev was clearly the better fighter in their bout last year in March, which was won by Kovalev by an eighth round knockout.
Kovalev vs. Pascal
Kovalev talks Pascal fight
What changed in your training coming to this fight?
Sergey Kovalev: “I did a lot of mistakes in our last fight and right now I try to fix it. I try to be better. It’s a secret about my mistakes and just me and my trainer know about my mistakes. I learned from my first fight. Right now I fix it and try to be creative, do everything exactly correct and try to fight more harder and try to stop Pascal early this time.
“Because I was disappointed in my performance in our last fight against Pascal I want to do this much better, much more clear.
“I felt very comfortable (in last fight). Judge gave to him two rounds, but I didn’t feel I lost these rounds. I just take time, used a lot of jabs and get lot of points with the jab.
Kovalev: I want to fight Ward, but I must focus on Pascal
By Allan Fox: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) is really looking forward to his fight later on this year against the unbeaten Andre Ward. That fight will surely be taking place later this year.
However, in the meantime, Kovalev must take care of business in his rematch against Jean Pascal (30-3, 17 KOs) on January 30th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Ward is going to be a formidable threat for Kovalev, because he’s got great boxing skills, is hard to hit, and he does well against slow punchers.
Pascal: I’ll be victorious against Kovalev this time
(Photo credit: Craig Bennett – Main Events) By Allan Fox: 33-year-old Jean Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KOs) has worked on the flaws in his game from his previous loss to IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs), and Pascal now feels ready and confident of beating the Russian fighter in their rematch this month on January 30th at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Canada.
The fight will be televised on HBO Boxing. Pascal is trained by Freddie Roach, and they both know what Pascal did wrong last year in March in Pascal’s 8th round knockout loss to Kovalev.
Kovalev-Pascal undercard
Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Undefeated welterweight prospect Dmitry “The Mechanic” Mikhaylenko (20-0, 9 KOs) will look to make his mark in the wide-open welterweight division against southpaw Ray “The New Ray Robinson” Robinson (20-2, 9 KOs) in the opening 10-round bout of the Kovalev-Pascal II HBO World Championship Boxing event Saturday, Jan. 30 live from the Centre Bell in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The telecast begins at 9:45 pm ET/PT live on HBO®.
Can Roach turn things around for Jean Pascal?
By Raj Parmar: Back in 2010, Jean Pascal was on top on the world. He had just beaten the champion Chad Dawson for the light heavyweight title and was ready to become the dominant force in the division. Later that year, he faced an aging Bernard Hopkins. However, Pascal only managed a draw in his backyard of Quebec, Canada; a fight many felt that Bernard had won.
He signed on to rematch Hopkins in 2011 and this time would lose to Bernard, and in the process Hopkins became the oldest man ever to win a title at the age of 46 years old. This halted the momentum Pascal had been building and put his career at the crossroads.
Pascal: I’m going to teach the Russian [Kovalev] a lesson!
Credit: Bob Lévesque) By Dan Ambrose: Former WBC 175lb champion Jean Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KOs) called IBF/WBA/WBC light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) a racist during their press conference on Monday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
Pascal, 32, said that Kovalev is a racist and that he’s going to make it a point to teach him a lesson when they face each other two months from now in a rematch on January 30th on HBO Championship Boxing from the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Roach: I will do anything to help Pascal win against Kovalev
(Photo Credits: David Spagnolo/Main Events) By Dan Ambrose: Former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KOs) is now being trained by the well-known Los Angeles, California trainer Freddie Roach for Pascal’s upcoming rematch against IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) for their fight on two months from now on January 30th, 2016 at the Bell Centre in Monreal, Canada.
Roach says he’s going to do whatever he can to help the 32-year-old Pascal win this fight. Pascal fell apart last March in losing to Kovalev by an 8th round knockout at the Bell Centre. The fight was televised by HBO Championship Boxing.
Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal in the works for Jan.30 on HBO
By Allan Fox: A rematch between IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) and former WBC 175lb champion Jean Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KOs) is in the works for January 30th on HBO Championship Boxing from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
The contracts haven’t been signed yet for the Kovalev-Pascal rematch. According to Dan Rafael, the Kovalev vs. Pascal rematch is part of a new three-fight contract with HBO. Kovalev will be fighting the well-known Pascal first, and then fighting in the summer next year against an opponent still to be determined.
Jones Jr. says Pascal wants rematch against Kovalev
By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Roy Jones Jr. says that former WBC 175lb champion Jean Pascal (29-3-1, 17 KOs) wants a rematch against unbeaten IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) to try avenge his 8th round knockout loss from last March in Canada.
Pascal, 32, was stopped on his feet after having been hurt in the 8th. Jones Jr. thinks that Pascal has learned his lesson of not getting hit with Kovalev’s jabs, and he feels he’ll do better the second time around.