Mayweather vs. Paul undercard: Badou Jack vs. Jean Pascal 2

By Boxing News - 04/28/2021 - Comments

By Jim Strobridge: Jean Pascal will be defending his WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title against former two-division world champion Badou ‘The Ripper’ Jack in a rematch on June 6th on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Logan Paul on Showtime pay-per-view at the Hard Rock in Miami, Florida.

Also in consideration for the Mayweather – Logan undercard is a clash between former IBF/WBA junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd (24-1, 16 KOs) and Luis Arias (18-2-1, 9 KOs).

Hurd, 30, is coming off a fine win over Francisco Santana in January of last year. Arias hasn’t fought since losing to Luke Keeler in August 2019. It’s a good match-up that will show whether these two excellent fighters are at right now in this stage of their respective careers.

Chris Mannix of SI is reporting the news of the rematch between 38-year-old WBA secondary 175-lb champion Pascal (35-6-1, 20 KOs) and the struggling #11 WBA Jack (23-3-3, 13 KOs).

Pascal defeated the 37-year-old Badou by a competitive 12 round split decision close to two years ago in December 2019 in Atlanta. It was a close fight that was decided by Pascal taking the championship rounds with his clean and effective punching.

It’s a no-brainer that Badou is being added to the undercard of the Mayweather vs. Logan Paul exhibition fight, as he’s signed with Mayweather Promotions.

Badou’s once-promising career hasn’t looked the same since his grueling 12 round draw against former WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson in May 2018. Jack took an enormous amount of heavy shots from Stevenson in the first half of the fight.

Image: Mayweather vs. Paul undercard: Badou Jack vs. Jean Pascal 2

It was admirable the way that Badou was able to stay on his feet with all the monstrous punches he absorbed from the southpaw Stevenson. Although Badou came storming back in the second half of the contest, he wasn’t able to get the win due to how one-sided the first six rounds were.

Since that fight, Badou has lost two out of his last three fights in the last three years in losses to Marcus Browne and Jean Pascal. The only win that Badou has picked up in the last four years was against little-known 34-year-old cruiserweight Blake McKernan.

Jack is no longer a major player at 175, and it’s unclear how Mayweather Promotions will use him for the remainder of his career. If Jack loses in his title shot against secondary WBA champion Pascal, it’s hard to know where he goes from here.

The World Boxing Association has two champions at 175, Dimitry Bivol and Pascal. Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) is considered the uppermost champ and Pascal the secondary belt-holder. Bivol already beat Pascal by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision in 2018.

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It probably won’t matter if the undercard for the Mayweather vs. Logan Paul exhibition card is skeletal with few compelling fights for the boxing fans. The main event is between Mayweather Jr, and Logan will draw the fans to purchase the event.

If the fans want to see this fight badly enough, they’ll put up with a less than stellar undercard that is included with it.

It goes without saying that Pascal vs. Jack 2 and Hurd vs. Arias won’t be big enough fights to attract fans sitting on the fence wondering whether to purchase the event or not entice them to buy it.

If Mayweather Promotions wants to get more real boxing fans to purchase the Mayweather-Paul card on June 6th, they’ll add Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis to the undercard.

Tank is easily the biggest name in the Mayweather Promotions stable, and he’s popular enough to attract the hardcore boxing fans to purchase the event, as long as he’s matched against a solid opponent.

Former 175-pound titleholder Badou Jack will face Jean Pascal on the Mayweather-Paul undercard, sources told @SInow
. Pascal edged Jack in a close — but entertaining — split decision in 2019,” said Chris Mannix.