By Luke Furman
Former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal is officially ending his association with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, and it now appears that he's going to hook up with veteran Canadian trainer Stephan Larouche - who is best known for his work with Eric Lucas, Leonard Dorin and Lucian Bute.
Pascal (30-4-1, 17KOs) hired Roach last year after a lackluster showing against Yunieski Gonzalez. Pascal barely squeezed out a decision win over ten rounds at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Pascal, with Roach in his corner, took a beating when he faced unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in January of this year in Montreal. He seemed to have very little in the fight and it was stopped after seven rounds of action.
Larouche is a very serious trainer and he's already spoken in detail with Pascal on what will be required of him if they begin a working relationship.
"Jean has been is in the gym for a few days. We have already spoken and there was a meeting which should lead to something," Larouche told 98.5 Sports.
"I already talked to Jean of my conditions - if we work together. We are not talking of finances. We talk about what I expect of an athlete. I told Jean what I wanted to see. I told him to think about all that. He called to tell me that he had thought about it and he wanted a meeting.
"There are several things and the first is very simple: I want Jean Pascal to focus on boxing and only boxing. I want him to stop the death conspiracies, I want him to stop thinking about a lot of things. I want him to stop worrying about others. I just want him to handle boxing.
"I think he still has a chance of success if he puts he priorities in the right places. But Jean Pascal has never boxed at his full potential, in my opinion. He is so physically gifted. He has so often been a boxer with a feisty style rather than finesse, as he could do. I already talked to him. He is aware. It will be my job to make him aware that it is possible."
Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.
