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Cloutier’s Canada Corner
Bermane Stiverne: "Pascal? I Am
Not Interested"
By Daniel Cloutier
MONTRÉAL - The negotiations between the InterBox promoter,
Jean Bédard, and the Montrealer promoter-manager Camille
Estephan, to organize a bout between the Montrealers Bermane
Stiverne and Jean Pascal, is already over.
Why? Stiverne, the former WBC heavyweight champion of the
world, is simply not interested.
Stiverne (24-2-1) wants to have a rematch with Deontay
Wilder (33-0-0) or face one of the top heavyweights in the
world.
January 17th at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Stiverne
lost his WBC crown to Wilder, who won the bout by unanimous
decision. Right after the bout, Stiverne has been
hospitalized for severe dehydration.
“Pascal? I am not interested at all to face him, revealed
Stiverne to the boxing writer of Le Journal de Montréal,
Mathieu Boulay. Why I should fight a light heavyweight who
wants to face me just to get attention? I have nothing to
gain to fight Pascal, who is not a natural heavyweight. I
want to get a rematch with Wilder or face one of the top
heavyweights in the world. Don’t bother me anymore with
Pascal.”
Pascal (29-3-1) mentioned publicly his desire to move up in
the heavyweight division in March, few days after his defeat
by TKO in the eight round against the WBA, WBO and IBF light
heavyweight (175 pounds) champion of the world, the Russian
Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1). After this bout, Pascal , a former
WBC light heavyweight champion of the world, said he wanted
to complete his career in the heavyweight division, in
fighting at 200, 205 or 210 pounds. He said his first target
was Stiverne. Pascal and Stiverne are two Montrealers
Haitians, but they never liked each other.
“If Stiverne refuses to face me, it’s because he is afraid,
said Pascal. He knows he would be in the favorites shoes if
he would face me, and he is scared to look bad against a
fast boxer like me. It’s sad, because I know a match up
between Stiverne and I would certainly draw a huge crowd in
Montréal, and the purses would be good for both.”
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