JEAN PASCAL is predicting a Hollywood style ending to his March 14 shot at fearsome WBA, WBO and IBF light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. Pascal, a former WBC boss, will be a huge underdog inside Montreal’s Bell Center against the unbeaten Russian.
“This fight is simple,” Pascal reported. “Your title is the remix of Rocky IV. This the North American guy versus the Russian. In the remix version though, I’m not Apollo Creed…I’m Rocky. This is the best fight possible, I respect Sergey Kovalev, he is the king of the division. In front of me I have the toughest challenge of my life. It’s going to be a tough fight, but I love challenges. I’m a guy who likes to face the best, March 14th that’s what I’m going to do.”
Kovalev, who thrashed great veteran Bernard Hopkins in November, insisted he will do his talking in the ring.
“I love to show good boxing,” he said. “Not every boxer can show good action. Jean Pascal is best opponent after Bernard Hopkins and it will be a very good fight because I will be in the ring. I have enough to speak, sorry, I’m not talker, I’m fighter.”
Pascal now works with former 175lb leader, and certain future Hall of Famer, Roy Jones Jnr.
“This is the best two guys in the division and a division I left a big trademark at,” said Jones. “You got the best two guys in the division fighting one another and you couldn’t ask for better. Both are friends but I work with Jean, so you gotta do what you gotta do. I’m just glad both these guys want to go out and prove who is best.”
Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva dispayed respect for Pascal, but little faith.
“I have become so bored with fighters who come up with reasons not to fight the very best,” she said. “I don’t understand it, I come from a place where that’s what fighters did. They were supposed to want to fight the best, that’s the way the sport worked when I began. I want to commend Jean for taking the fight but sorry Jean, you don’t get to become Rocky.”
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