Kovalev’s Trainer: Pascal Gets KO’d or Wishes He Was

by David P. Greisman

John David Jackson does see attributes that Jean Pascal has which could give his fighter, Sergey Kovalev, some trouble when they fight this Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

But he also sees “Krusher” either knocking out yet another foe or making Pascal pay for lasting the distance.

“One thing that could be difficult is the awkward movement,” Jackson said of Pascal. “He’s not the slickest guy, he’s not the smoothest boxer, but he’s herky-jerky, and that could pose a problem. He needs a lot of distance. He tries to create distance. When he creates that distance for himself, now he has to lunge in with his shots. A lot of times when he lunges in, he isn’t looking at his opponent. His head is down and he powers away.

“We have to work our way in behind the jab, feint him, make him create mistakes and capitalize on them. He’s dangerous, but we’ve fought more dangerous fighters than him,” he said. “He has power. You can’t sell him short. He has good power and good boxing skills, and that’s why he was champion. He’s dangerous. “

Pascal claims not to have been knocked down before.

“He’s got a good chin. It’ll be tested Saturday,” Jackson said. “If he doesn’t get knocked out, he’s going to wish he had been knocked out because he’s going to be taking a lot of punishment.”

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