| |
|
|
Pascal vs. Hopkins Overview
By Nat Gottlieb Courtesy of HBO.com
The common thread running through the three biggest fights
of Pascal’s 28-bout career is his inability to finish what
he started. Like a thoroughbred sprinter asked to stretch
out in a distance race, Pascal has consistently had trouble
reaching the finish line with any kick left. It cost him his
only loss against Carl Froch in 2008. Two years later he
barely escaped getting knocked out by Chad Dawson in the
11th round of a fight he won on points by technical
decision. Against Hopkins, only a draw saved him from
absorbing his second defeat.
Now Pascal has a chance for a do-over. If he is to win this
time, he’ll have to find solutions to the many problems
Hopkins still poses at 46, plus overcome his own stylistic
failings. “Pascal has an impressive body, but in a physical
fight he starts to feel fatigue around the seven, eighth or
ninth rounds,” says Daniel Cloutier, longtime Montreal
boxing writer. “Pascal is always at his best through the
sixth and seventh rounds. Why, I don’t know. He trains very
hard.”
One reason could be that the 28-year-old Pascal sometimes
doesn’t pace himself, according to his promoter, Yvon
Michel. “Jean wanted to go for the kill early against Froch.
When he realized he wouldn’t be able to trade blows with
him, beginning in the 7th round he wanted to just move,
move, but he slowed down. He had given so much of himself
earlier.” The same was true in the Dawson fight. “He threw a
lot of punches early and slowed down.”
Hopkins is the flip side of the coin. Despite being 18 years
older, Hopkins picked up the pace midway through the fight,
and was outworking Pascal right to the wire. Michel traces
Pascal’s fade not to lack of stamina, but to the way he
prepared for the fight. Incredibly, Pascal apparently took
the future Hall of Famer somewhat for granted.
“He never trained like it was going to be the toughest fight
of his career,” Michel says. “Everybody in camp was telling
him he was fighting an old man, and it could be his last
fight ever. Beating Dawson was such a big win for him. He
didn’t feel the same sense of urgency with Hopkins.” This
time around Michel thinks things will be different. “He is
working as hard as he did for Dawson. He’ll be faster. He
didn’t have the quickness against Hopkins. Jean will dictate
the pace of the fight, not Hopkins.”
Pascal’s overconfidence going into the first fight was
undoubtedly reinforced when he put Hopkins down in the final
seconds of the first round with a shot that nailed him
toward the back of the head. It was the first time in 16
years Hopkins had hit the canvas. Two rounds later, Pascal
did it again. Those two knockdowns proved to be both the
best thing that could’ve happened to Pascal and in some ways
the worst. Two of the three judges scored the bout dead
even. So without those knockdowns – both scored 10-8 rounds
– Pascal would have lost. But by sending the iron-chinned
Hopkins to the canvas, Pascal became overconfident, which
nearly was his downfall. “When he put Hopkins down twice, he
went all out, trying for the knockout,” Michel says.
Given that Hopkins (51-5-2, 32 KOs) had not been knocked out
in 59 career fights, and tasted canvas only twice before in
420 rounds, Pascal’s decision to go for an early takeout
seemed a bit misguided. If Pascal has learned anything from
the first fight, it wasn’t apparent at a press conference
for the rematch. “I won the first fight in Quebec City, and
I will decisively win the rematch,” Pascal says. “But this
time when I send him to the canvas, I’ll make sure he
doesn’t get up again. Hopkins isn’t getting any younger, and
he gave everything he had left in his body the last time. He
can’t be any better.”
Hopkins thinks the reverse is true for Pascal. “I’m a threat
and my age doesn’t matter. Pascal knows it. He was credited
with two knockdowns and is almost twenty years younger than
me, and he still wasn’t able to win the fight. I gave Pascal
an old-fashioned beating and I’ll do it again.”
Perhaps the biggest problem Pascal faces is Hopkins’ vast
experience in major fights, including 24 championship bouts.
Over the course of his career, Hopkins has developed into
one of the great ring masters of all time, and benefits from
having trainer Nazim Richardson in his corner. Richardson is
astute at making adjustments, as he did against Pascal.
After the 5th round, Richardson told Hopkins: “We don’t want
to be throwing big shots like that. He is going to go big,
so you go small, with short shots inside.”
From that point on, Hopkins began throwing a flurry of
short, choppy punches, which kept Pascal on the defensive
more than he would have liked. The final punch stats clearly
indicate Hopkins was the aggressor. Hopkins connected on 153
of 502 shots, compared to just 86 of 350 for Pascal. Hopkins
also dominated in power punches, landing 129 of 311, while
Pascal succeeded with 57 of 102. Not surprisingly, Pascal
won only one round from each of the judges in the final
seven.
The winner of this fight is expected to face the victor of
the co-feature, Dawson (29-1, 17 KOs) versus Adrian Diaconu
(27-2, 15 KOs).
|
|
|
