Kovalev Stops Pascal In The Eighth Round - Pound4Pound.com

Cloutier’s Canada Corner
Kovalev Stops Pascal In The Eighth Round

By Daniel Cloutier
Photos: Robert Lévesque

MONTRÉAL - The Montrealer Jean Pascal had the conviction that the Americans sports bookies who established the Russian Sergey Kovalev largely the favorite to win Saturday evening in the ring of the Bell Centre, would look ridiculous at the end of the bout.

Was he right or wrong?

Wrong!

Established favorite to win by 5-1, Kovalev kept his WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight championship of the world, in beating Pascal (29-3-1) by TKO in the eight round.

Kovalev (27-0-1) lost only one round.

Kovalev had a good beginning of the fight. In the first round, he connected many times with his jab and a couple of power shots. Pascal was more careful.

The second round was more spectacular than the first one. Kovalev was very intense offensively, and Pascal replied with three good attacks.

In the third, Kovalev was very aggressive, and Pascal took a count of eight in going across the cables.

Kovalev put Pascal in trouble in the first minute of the fourth round, in attacking him constantly with the two hands.

Pascal lost the first four rounds, but he got a very good fifth round offensively. He was a lot of more aggressive than in the previous rounds.

Kovalev came back in the sixth with a solid performance offence, especially with the jab, but Pascal got a good attack in the last seconds of the round.

In the seventh, Kovalev had a fantastic round offensively, and he hurt Pascal in the last seconds of the round.

Kovalev hurt again Pascal in the eight, he continues his attacks, and the Puerto Rican referee, Luis Pabon, stopped the bout and declared Pascal TKO.

It was the first time in his career that Pascal lost a bout before the limit.

Pabon, clearly, was considering that Pascal was connected on to often.