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Cloutier’s Canada Corner
Kovalev Established Favorite By
10 To One
By Daniel Cloutier
Photos: Robert Lévesque
MONTRÉAL - The Las Vegas bookies did not surprise the
boxing writers in establishing the Russian Sergey
Kovalev favourite to win by 10 to one Saturday evening
in the ring of the Bell Centre in Montréal. Kovalev is
ranked now among the 10 best fighters pound for pound in
the world.
Kovalev (28-0-1) will proceed to the third defence of
his WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight championships of
the world, in allowing a rematch to the Montrealer Jean
Pascal (30-3-1), a former WBC light heavyweight champion
of the world.
Last March also at Bell Centre, Kovalev kept his triple
crowns in beating Pascal by TKO in the eight round. That
night, Pascal lost by TKO for the first time of his
career.
“Kovalev is established favorite by a big margin?
Perfect, said Pascal. I love to be in the underdogs
shoes. The pressure is not on my shoulders but on his
shoulders. And no matter what the bookies believe, I am
positive I gonna win this rematch. Then, I guess I will
cause the surprise of the year on the international
boxing scene…! I know perfectly what I did wrong last
March, and I won’t repeat these mistakes in this
rematch. I did a lot of wrong strategic moves March
14th, but in this rematch, I will do everything right. I
cannot wait the beginning of this bout. I want so much
to take my revenge on Kovalev, kick his butt this time.
No matter what he said, I know that Kovalev is a racist
man who has absolutely no respect for the black people.
And I am not the only one to mention it. My new trainer,
Freddie Roach, prepared me perfectly technically and
strategically in California in the last two months, and
you will see, our good strategy will make me dominate
the action and win the fight.”
Roach said it and repeat it, he wants to see Pascal be
more intense and more aggressive in this rematch. Roach
believes that Pascal picked the wrong strategy March
14th. “Yes, Jean knows perfectly what I am waiting from
him, said Roach. He knows he got to be more intense and
more aggressive than he was in the first fight with
Kovalev, and I am positive he will do. I know how much
he is motivated to take his revenge on Kovalev. He
cannot be more hungry than he is now.”
At the weight in, supervised by the Québec Régie of
sports fights, and representatives of the WBA, WBO and
IBF, the two fighters posted perfect weights. Its was
174.6 for Kovalev, 174.3 for Pascal.
If Pascal is showing a huge motivation to beat Kovalev,
the Russian has exactly the same feeling at few hours of
the moment of the truth. “Pascal insulted me publicly in
pretending I am not a star in boxing and I am a racist
man, and these comments were absolutely ridiculous and
unacceptable, said Kovalev. I have no respect anymore
for this guy. He will pay the big price for theses trash
comments. I beat him clearly March 14th, and I will beat
him clearly again in few hours. And Pascal will suffer
more in this rematch than he did in our first match up.
I attacked him severely in March, and I will certainly
do more this time. I am planning to beat him before the
eight round in this rematch. I am determinate to deliver
a memorable performance this time. Pascal is dreaming if
he thinks seriously he will dethrone me as WBA, WBO and
IBF light heavyweight champion of the world. I am the
king of the 175 pounds division and I will stay the
king. I cannot wait the moment of the first bell. I am
so motivated to win this rematch, and trust me, I will
do it. Pascal is a good fighter, I know he will give
everything to surprise me, but trust me, I am ready for
everything he can bring to the table.”
Kovalev’s trainer, John David Jackson, a former super
welterweight and middleweight champion of the world, has
the conviction that his fighter will be better in this
rematch than he was in the first fight with Pascal.
“Sergey won by TKO in the eight round in the first fight
with Pascal, in March, but trust me, he will certainly
be better in this rematch, said Jackson. Sergey knows
and I know that his performance will be better this
rime. Sergey is so determinate to beat severely Pascal,
for his trash comments on him. I still believe Sergey
gonna stop Pascal in five round or less. My fighter is
stronger physically and technically than Pascal, then,
watch him when the first bell will ring. Pascal will
definitively regret his trash comments.”
The Pascal’s new trainer, the Californian Freddie Roach,
is very confident to see his fighter take his revenge on
Kovalev.
“I am more and more persuaded that Jean will be more
intense and more aggressive than he was in his first
match up with Kovalev, said Roach, a trainer who is
working with several big names on the international
scene. And it’s exactly what he has to do. I really
appreciated the way that Jean was fighting in our
sparring sessions in California in the last two months,
he was always intense and mean, and I am positive he
will fight the same way Saturday evening. Trust me, a
Jean Pascal intense and aggressive has the weapons to
win this rematch. Pascal has the power, the speed, a
great left hook and a natural talent to dethrone Kovalev
as WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion of the
world. I am so impatient to see Jean in action Saturday
evening.”
Jean Bédard, the promoter of InterBox, said that Pascal
was very calm at this weight in. “Jean was extremely
agitated at the final press conference, but I was with
him this morning, and he was very calm, said Bédard. No
doubt in my mind he is ready for the fight now, and he
is perfectly concentrate on the job to do in the ring.
He has a lot of experience, he is a real pro. ”
Bernard Barré, the scout of the GYM Group, the man who
recruited Pascal for the organization in 2007, said: “My
heart is with Pascal, I really hope he gonna win, but my
prediction is that Kovalev gonna win again by TKO,
probably between the eight and the 10th round. I am
expecting that Kovalev will charge Pascal like a
bulldozer and hurt him several times, particularly
between the eight and the10th round. I just hope my
prediction will be wrong. It would be so fantastic if
Pascal would become the first Montrealer to win a triple
world crowns.”
The referee of the bout Kovalev-Pascal will be the
Montrealer Mike Griffin, and the judges will be the
Montrealer Pasquale Procopio, the New Yorker Steve Weifl
and the Porto Rican Nelson Vasquez.
Just before the fight Kovalev-Pascal, HBO will televise
a welterweight USBA championship bout between the
Russian Dmitry Mikhaylenko (20-0-0) and the Californian
Karim Mayfield (19-2-1). The fight Kovalev-Pascal is
scheduled for 12 rounds, the bout Mikhaylenko-Mayfield
for 10 rounds.
The others fights will involved the welterweight
Virgilijus Stapulionis (25-3-1), from Lithuania, the
Californian super lightweight Joel Diaz (20-0-0), the
Montrealer middleweight Renan St-Juste (26-4-1), the
Montrealer super welterweight Steven Butler (13-0-1),
the middleweight Sébastien Bouchard (11-1-0), from Baie
St-Paul, Québec, the super lightweight David Théroux
(8-1-0), from Sorel, Québec, the Montrealer the super
bantamweight Vislan Dalkaev (4-0-0) and the heavyweight
Cassius Chaney (2-0-0), from New London, Connecticut.
Stapulionis will face the Hungarian Laszio Fazekas
(27-23-1), Diaz will meet the Mexican Abraham Gomez
(22-11-1), St-Juste will be opposed to the Montrealer
Francis Lafrenière (10-5-2), Butler will face Antonio
Hoffman (13-0-0), from Angola, Bouchard will meet the
Hungarian Damian Mielewczky (9-1-0), Théroux will fight
the Mexican Juan Armando Garcia (13-2-2), Dalkaev
(4-0-0) will compete the Mexican Alan Salazar (5-1-0)
and Chaney will have the Hungarian Zoltan Csala as
opponent.
The bout St-Juste-Lafrenière will be an IBF
international middleweight championship, scheduled for
10 rounds.
At the weight in, Mikhaylenko posted an official weight
of 146.7 pounds, Mayfield 147, Stapulionis 155.4,
Fazekas 153.3, Diaz 132.4, Gomez 130.2, St-Juste 159.3,
Lafrenière 158.2, Butler 153.6, Hoffman 151.3, Bouchard
147, Mielewczky 146.1, Théroux 141.6, Garcia 144.2,
Dalkaev 121.5, Salazar 121,Chaney 242, and Csala 244.
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