By Richard Cloutier
WBC/IBO light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal is very eager to get in the ring with Bernard Hopkins on May 21. The fight is a rematch of their controversial draw last December.
"I'm very enthusiastic," said Pascal to BoxingScene.com/Netboxe.com on the sidelines of a brief press gathering that was held in Montreal just hours before he left for Miami where he will begin his official training camp for the Hopkins rematch. "I want to dispel the doubts, although in my head there is no doubt because I think I clearly won the fight. So we'll do a rematch and we will set the record straight. "
"This is a fighter whom I respect enormously. He is truly a legend. But as a human being, as a person, he's lost all of my respect. He respects nothing. He came to spit on the people of Quebec who received him very well. This is unforgivable! He spat at me as if I was nothing despite the fact that I offered good opposition, and sent him to the canvas twice. I'm the one who made this fight so exciting."
"We all know that Bernard Hopkins is known for delivering bad fights. He is a first class crybaby! A big baby who is 46 years-years-old, who complained about being robbed in Canada. Yet even when he fights in the United States before judges Americans, he cries that he was robbed, for example against Jermain Taylor. So what I'd like to tell Bernard Hopkins is: 'look at yourself in the mirror and learn to accept your defeats. When I lost against Carl Froch, I didn't whine about it. I came back stronger and six months later, I was world champion."
Please note that Pascal has already begun light training in Montreal, will be in Miami on February 27 for the first part of his training camp. It will get underway under the supervision of Luke Richardson, the fitness coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL.
