Pascal Disses Stevenson, Calls Kovalev "King" of Division

By Keith Idec

In what was as much a shot at Quebec rival Adonis Stevenson as it was a compliment to Sergey Kovalev, Jean Pascal called Kovalev “the king” of the light heavyweight division Monday during a news conference to officially announce their March 14 fight at Bell Centre in Montreal.

“This is the best fight, first of all,” Pascal said. “I respect Sergey Kovalev. He is the king of the division. Right now, I have in front me the toughest challenge of my life. Sergey is the king of the division. I’m fighting the WBA, IBF & WBO champion.”

Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KOs) will join a long list of impressive opponents on the Haitian-born, Quebec-bred Pascal’s record (29-2-1, 17 KOs, 1 NC). Over the past six years, the 32-year-old former WBC 175-pound champion has defeated Chad Dawson and Lucian Bute, drew with Bernard Hopkins and dropped decisions to Hopkins and Carl Froch.

The 31-year-old Kovalev dominated Hopkins, 49, in his last fight, Nov. 8 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Both Kovalev and Pascal have pursued fights against Stevenson (25-1, 21 KOs), the WBC champion, but neither has been able to lure him into the ring. A bout between Pascal and Stevenson would be one of the biggest boxing matches in Canadian history, but Pascal obviously is focused now on his showdown with an unbeaten Russian knockout artist who presents at least as big a challenge as the heavy-handed Stevenson.

“It’s going to be a real good fight, a tough fight,” Pascal said. “You know I love challenges. I’m a guy who always tries to face the best and that’s what I’m going to do on March 14. I’m going to face the best in the division, Sergey Kovalev. That’s going to be a good fight.”

Their 12-round fight for Kovalev’s IBF, WBA & WBO light heavyweight titles will be broadcast by HBO.

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.