By Keith Idec
Jean Pascal couldn’t draw an emotional response from Sergey Kovalev, but he infuriated Kovalev’s trainer during a press conference late Wednesday morning in Montreal to promote their light heavyweight championship rematch.
Pascal tossed a banana at a seated John David Jackson after berating Russia’s Kovalev, whom Pascal has repeatedly called a racist leading up to their 12-round rematch Saturday night at Bell Centre in Montreal (HBO). Jackson, who’s black, responded calmly when Pascal patted him on the shoulder, said, “Coach, I got you. I got you, man,” and dropped a banana in front of him.
Once Jackson got to the podium, though, he grew angry while speaking to Pascal. The former junior middleweight and middleweight title-holder eventually had to be pulled away from the podium.
“There’s a lot I could say about Jean Pascal,” Jackson said. “He pretty much expressed it himself. He showed the true colors that he is as a person. Some of the things he said are very ignorant. It’s not about race. Sergey may say things that at the time that he says them, they may come out the wrong way. But if he was racist, I wouldn’t be in his corner. Trust me, in my gym everybody predominantly is black.”
Pascal promptly interrupted Jackson, who told him, “Shut the f*** up. You had your time. Shut the f*** up. You had your time. You’re getting knocked out on Saturday. That’s what you need to worry about, all right? Shut the hell up. This is one of the most ignorant people in the world.”
Pascal responded, “He came to see you three weeks before the fight. He doesn’t respect you because you’re black. He has no respect to show up to camp three weeks before the fight. That’s why he don’t trust you, because you’re black. He showed up to training camp three weeks before the fight.”
Jackson responded, “Is that all? Why is [former trainer] Marc [Ramsey] not here? Because he knows you’re getting knocked out in this fight. That’s why he’s not here. No other reason. He told you you’re gonna get knocked out this fight. Yeah, put the mic away now, because that’s true. You know that’s true. That’s why you’re stuck right here.”
Pascal, now trained by Freddie Roach, then stood up, picked up the microphone and moved in Jackson’s direction. The former WBC light heavyweight champion shouted at Jackson, “Watch your mouth! Watch your mouth! You’re just a punk! You’re a shame! You’re black guy! Stand up for black people! Stand up for black people! Stand up for black people! He doesn’t respect you! He doesn’t trust you!”
As Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) and others restrained Jackson, he challenged Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KOs, 1 NC) to “come on outside. You’ll get knocked out!”
Order quickly was restored and the press conference continued without incident.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.