Kovalev's Trainer Respects Multi-Dimensional Pascal

By Keith Idec

Jean Pascal is not the Haitian-born light heavyweight from Quebec that Sergey Kovalev and his trainer truly wanted to fight next.

That doesn’t mean they don’t consider Pascal a legitimate threat to pull off an upset next month. Russia’s Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KOs) is a 4-1 favorite approaching his IBF/WBA/WBO title fight against Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KOs, 1 NC) on March 14 in Montreal, but John David Jackson, the 31-year-old Kovalev’s trainer, isn’t interested in the odds.

“You can’t take Jean lightly or sell him short,” Jackson said on a conference call Tuesday. “He was [WBC] champion for a reason and you have to give him his just due. Sergey prepares for every fight the same way.”

Jackson also noted that Kovalev is extremely determined to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion. A fight against WBC champ Adonis Stevenson (25-1, 21 KOs), Pascal’s Montreal-area rival and owner of the only recognized 175-pound championship Kovalev doesn’t possess, won’t happen unless Kovalev beats Pascal.

“Pascal is a very good fighter, very intelligent and has power,” Jackson said. “He’s a very good fighter. You can’t take him lightly. If you take him lightly, then you become ex-champion. So we’re looking at Pascal how we should at him – a very good fighter, with very good skill.”

The 32-year-old Pascal presents a different set of challenges than Bernard Hopkins, who defeated Pascal in May 2011 but suffered a lopsided loss to a much younger, stronger Kovalev in his last fight.

“He’s not one-dimensional,” Jackson said of Pascal. “He throws punches sometimes from different angles. As far as the best defense? No, he doesn’t have that. The greatest offensive attack? No, he doesn’t have that. But he’s very good at what he does. He’s kind of herky-jerky. There are certain things he does that are unconventional, but they work for him. So Sergey has to dissect him slowly and do what he does best, and that’s find a way to figure out the faults of Jean Pascal and break him down slowly.

“Sergey’s not a one-punch knockout puncher, in the regard of just throwing one shot at a time. Sergey’s a volume puncher. He throws combinations. He does everything well. So Pascal will present a problem, but it’s not a problem that can’t be fixed.”

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.