Pascal: Kovalev is The King, But I'm Going To Beat Him

By Luke Furman

Canadian star Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17KOs) is going to have the crowd behind him when he challenges WBO/WBA/IBF light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (26-0-1, 23KOs) on March 14th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

They share one common opponent, Bernard Hopkins. Pascal went to a controversial twelve round draw with Hopkins in 2012 and lost a close unanimous decision to the veteran in their 2011 rematch. Kovalev dominated Hopkins over twelve rounds in their unification last November in Atlantic City.

"I'll tell you the truth. I'm not a liar. Kovalev is the king of the light heavyweight division on paper. In my head, I'm the king. But in theory the title is his for now and I have to admit it. It's important for me to give him my respect. That does not mean I am not better than him," Pascal said.

"The mind is stronger than the physical. I'm doing everything necessary to prepare and with the support of the crowd at the Bell Centre - we - and I mean we - will be able to defeat him. My goal is to restore the former glory of Quebec boxing."

Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org