By Jake Donovan

Jean Pascal still has a fight in queue before he can truly look to the future, but it appears as if 2015 already boasts a promising start for the former light heavyweight king.

Neither camp has offered comment regarding confirmation for such a fight, though for good reason. Pascal still has to get past Roberto Bolonti (35-3, 24KOs) this weekend in Montreal before all parties can finalize terms. 

Saturday’s headliner comes as a condensed version of the original intention of the Dec. 6 show in Montreal. Pascal was due to face Donovan George, who was removed from the bill after a falling out over the terms regarding his requested appearance in country. The show was salvaged when Bolonti was encouraged to still make the trip from Italy, as the fringe contender was slated to face Lucian Bute, who withdrew from the headliner after reportedly suffering an injury during training camp.

Pascal, 32, formed his own promotional company—Jean Pascal Promotions—earlier this year. In efforts to secure big fights, he has since entered a co-promotional agreement with Interbox, whose president Jean Bedard was reportedly in New York City over the Thanksgiving weekend to negotiate with Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events and Kovalev’s promoter. 

Once confirmed, the bout will likely air on HBO, given Kovalev’s exclusive contract with the network. The unbeaten Russian has appeared on the American pay-cable channel in each of his past five bouts, including his most recent feat, a 12-round shutout over legendary Bernard Hopkins to unify three belts in the light heavyweight division. 

Despite the plethora of belts in his possession, Kovalev is not the division’s recognized World lineal champ. That honor belongs to Adonis Stevenson, who earned the crown with a one-punch 1 st round knockout of Chad Dawson last June. Dawson claimed light heavyweight lineage with a 12-round win in his April ’12 rematch with Hopkins, who stood atop the division following his own rematch win over Pascal in May ’11. 

Pascal’s championship reign began in Aug. ’10, scoring a technical decision over Dawson when the two fighters were regarded as the top two light heavyweights in the world, thus filling the vacancy left behind when Zsolt Erdei severed his ties with the division to pursue—and win—a belt at cruiserweight. 

Following the loss to Hopkins, forward progress for Pascal has been slowed by inactivity. Just three fights have come in the past three years, though hardly from his own doing. An inability to get his light heavyweight peers to see eye to eye at the negotiating table has played a part, as has injuries suffered by scheduled opponents. 

The most recent ring appearance for Pascal came in January with a lopsided points win over Bute. The bout was delayed due to an injury suffered by Bute, but despite the postponement and the fight coming past its best sell-by date, the event proved to be a huge financial success in Canada. 

Given his box office appeal, Pascal remains the most viable option for any light heavyweight. His mandatory challenger suggested a guaranteed crack at Stevenson, but the pair of transplanted Haitians have only traded insults rather than punches. 

It now appears that such a fight is not on the horizon any time soon, yet another setback following what has been a dissatisfying year for Stevenson. The reigning light heavyweight champ was coming off of a Fighter of the Year-level 2013 campaign, but only has failed negotiations to show for this calendar year. 

The southpaw was on track to face Kovalev, only to burn his bridges with HBO and Main Events in reneging on his word, instead jumping ship to sign with adviser Al Haymon and take his business to Showtime. The move came with the intention of facing Hopkins in the fall, but those plans fell apart once Hopkins instead opted for a November showdown with Kovalev, thus returning to HBO. 

Stevenson’s in-ring campaign for 2014 has been limited to a 12-round points win over Andrzej Fonfara. His next bout comes later this month, facing Dmitry Sukhotsky in an optional defense on Dec. 19 in Montreal. 

By then, the ink should be dry on a Kovalev-Pascal showdown that—despite the absence of the lineal championship—will leave the winner as the clear choice for the best light heavyweight on the planet. 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America . Twitter: @JakeNDaBox