Pascal Calls Into Question Kovalev's Suggested Star Power

By Jake Donovan

It goes without saying that for whatever Jean Pascal may lack in the ring (and that list isn't very long), he certainly makes up for in courage. The former light heavyweight champion is in exclusive company as a boxer willing to face Sergey Kovalev a second time in the pro ranks.

The two will meet again on January 30 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, the same hosting venue for their first fight this past March.

Kovalev - an unbeaten, unified titlist - won the bout by 8th round knockout, but at present moment is in need of warm bodies in order to remain active. The man viewed by many as the best light heavyweight on the planet hasn't fought since a 3rd round knockout of overmatched mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi this past July.

Pascal appeared on the same show in Las Vegas, barely escaping with a debatable 10-round decision win over previously unbeaten Yuneski Gonzalez. The poor showing prompted the Haitian-Canadian to change up in training camp - including his now working under Hall of Fame cornerman Freddie Roach - but hasn't at all changed the manner in which he sells a fight.

"One thing I don't really like... we need to be honest. One thing they are trying to make Kovalev something that he's not - a star," Pascal insisted during a press conference to formally announce the rematch Monday morning in Montreal. "He's not a star because he doesn't sell tickets. You know why? It's probably because he speaks worse than he looks.

“The only reason why HBO is putting $3 million on the table... is because he's fighting me. I'm the star of the division. I'm the cash cow of the division.”

There is truth to the fact that – while a notable ratings draw for American cable giant HBO – Kovalev doesn’t exactly bring ‘em in at the box office.

The unbeaten knockout artist from Russia began his title win with a 4th round knockout of Nathan Cleverly on the road in Wales and has twice appeared in Canada. His first trip north of the border was as the chief support to a Nov. ’13 show in Quebec City headlined by Adonis Stevenson’s stoppage win over Tony Bellew. Kovalev opened the HBO doubleheader with a violent 2nd round knockout of Ismayl Sillah, sending a loud enough message to convince Stevenson to stall on plans for a head-on collision.

After fighting three consecutive times in Atlantic City – capped by a career-best 12-round shutout win over Bernard Hopkins – in 2014, Kovalev returned to Canada for his aforementioned win over Pascal, followed by his Las Vegas debut with the Mohammedi title defense in July.

None of his stateside title defenses drew sizeable crowds – the announced crowd of 8,545 for the win over Hopkins was more than the combined total for his wins over Cedric Agnew and Blake Capparello in Atlantic City AND the poorly-attended clash with Mohammedi this summer.

Conversely, Pascal has long served as a major draw in Canada. This much was realized in his 12-round win over former super middleweight champ Lucian Bute last January. The clash of the nation’s two biggest stars drew more than 18,000 in attendance and produced the largest live gate of any fight to ever take place in Canada.

Given that, it made sense for Kovalev to hit the road for his first fight with Pascal earlier this year and now again next January. Less comprehensible, however, was his public behavior prior to the Pascal clash in March, an incident occurred that was mentioned – among many other subjects – by his repeat opponent during Monday’s press conference.

As is the case with most fighters after making weight, Kovalev’s main focus was on the quickest way to replenish and rehydrate. Instead, he was met with a chorus of boos from Pascal’s supporters in attendance at the weigh-in, to which he responded by flipping his middle finger to the crowd.

At the time, Main Events CEO Kathy Duva – Kovalev’s promoter – explained to BoxingScene.com’s David Greisman that the light heavyweight was “really hungry and he’s been in a really, really ornery mood for the past two or three days, which is normal for a fight. And he’s usually very edgy before a weigh-in.”

Pascal and his team didn’t buy the excuse back then and the fighter to this day claims to still take issue with said incident, among others including the insistence that Kovalev is a racist.

“This guy, he's supposed to be a role model. He has no class, no respect for anyone in Quebec,” Pascal stated, in both English and in French. “Not because of me, but because of the fans - because of you guys, because of my fans - he made his first paycheck over $1 million. It was because of you guys and what did he do? He gave you (the middle finger). It's totally a lack of respect.

“One thing we know he's not classy. He doesn't have respect. I'm going to teach him respect on January 30. To give you the middle finger to you guys - it makes no sense to me.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox