FORMER world champion Jean Pascal is gearing up for a ring return on June 28. The 42-year-old will square off against seasoned cruiserweight veteran Michal Cieslak, headlining a card in his resident city of Quebec, Canada.
Not only that, but the WBC has put its interim title on the line for their clash, presenting the winner with a beeline route to face Badou Jack.
And yet, according to the sanctioning body’s latest rankings, Pascal, 37-7-1 (21 KOs), is only placed at number 10 while Cieslak, 27-2 (21 KOs) – the more deserving contender, at least – boasts a fifth-place ranking.
Either way, their matchup was announced by little-known outfit ‘New Era Promotion’ yesterday, with full details of the undercard expected to follow in due course.
Pascal is, of course, already familiar with WBC world champion Jack, as the pair squared off in a thrilling light-heavyweight encounter back in 2019. In recent times, Pascal is perhaps best known for taking multiple performance-enhancing substances.
Shortly after his split decision victory over ‘The Ripper,’ though, the Canadian tested positive for several banned substances, including epitrenbolone and drostanolone, which ultimately scuppered their scheduled rematch.
And while Pascal has only chalked up one cruiserweight outing, Cieslak, on the other hand, has amassed six victories at 200lbs since his points defeat to Lawrence Okolie in 2022.
The co-main event slot of their upcoming card, meanwhile, will see former light-heavyweight world title challenger Marcus Browne return from a 22-month layoff against limited operator Olanrewaju Durodola.
Like Pascal, the American has recorded just one victory at cruiserweight but nonetheless looks to climb up the WBC rankings.
