By Cliff Rold
Russia’s 31-year old unified Light Heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KO) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, scored a knockdown in round three and then overcame the toughest fight of his professional career to earn an eighth round stoppage of Haitian 32-year old former lineal and WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Jean Pascal (29-3-1, 17 KO) of Laval, Quebec, Canada, on Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Kovalev retained the WBA “Super” and IBF titles for the first time and made his fifth defense of the WBO belt.
Pascal suffered the first stoppage loss of his career.
In an effort to try and force a showdown between the divisions clear top two, the WBC designated this fight an eliminator for a shot at their titlist, lineal 175 kingpin Adonis Stevenson (25-1, 21 KO). Sanctioning organizations typically don’t rate each other’s champions and Pascal declined to take part in the eliminator. Whether the WBC can influence a Kovalev-Stevenson showdown remains to be seen.
Kovalev weighed in for the bout at 174 ¼, Pascal at the division limit of 175. The referee was Luis Pabon.
Kovalev worked to establish the jab in the first while Pascal attempted to lure him into a wilder affair. Pascal was warned for a rabbit punch after a clinch where both men fell into the ropes. Pascal landed a good combination to the body before the bell to close the opening frame.
Pascal was warned for a low blow in the second but managed to land some decent clean shots as well. Kovalev landed more, his thudding jab making room for the big right hand. Through two rounds, Pascal could take the shot. In the third, he knocked Kovalev off balance with a right and left and backed him up with another right off the ropes.
Kovalev replied with a right of his own. Rocked, Pascal grabbed Kovalev around the waist and tired to get his bearings. Kovalev stunned him again and Pascal fired back with a big left. Kovalev answered again, knocking Pascal sideways and over the second rope for a scored knockdown.
The bell rang and sent Pascal to the corner. He didn’t recover enough and was still trying to survive as Kovalev came hard after him to start round four. Covering up and absorbing blows on the arms, Pascal got away from the ropes and started moving. Pascal landed a right to get away from the ropes as the round wore on. Kovalev took it fine and kept stalking.
That stalking created room for Pascal to back Kovalev up with a big left and right. As the bell sounded to end round five, both men were firing away and the crowd roared. With his right eye swelling, Pascal came out for the sixth looking for rights. He found them as the round wore on, Kovalev developing a bruise under his left eye. Pascal closed his best round of the fight with another booming right and momentum possibly shifting.
Round six opened with Kovalev backing Pascal up with a short left hook. Pascal nailed Kovalev with a right hand, buckling his knees. Both men landed bruising stuff, Kovalev attempting some showy right hands and getting tagged while his right eye took bruising underneath as well.
A tangle of feet in the seventh sent Pascal to the floor and Kovalev slipped away from a wild right haymaker when action resumed. Kovalev landed his bolo right this time around but Pascal was still getting the right over. A left hook in the final thirty seconds seemed to daze Pascal and Pascal’s legs were still shaky at the bell.
Kovalev sought to press the advantage to start round eight. Going downhill, Kovalev was landing big shots and Pascal wasn’t defending well. Pascal nearly went down in the corner but kept his feet and fired back. Kovalev went down and the referee ruled it the effect of a tangle of feet. Kovalev came right back, landed a monster right hand and then another and Pabon leapt in to stop the fight at 1:03 of round eight.
Asked in the post-fight interview on HBO whether he’d been in a fight like that before, Kovalev smiled. “Sure. Harder fights. Amateur career.” Kovalev admitted he’d felt some of the punches but maintained his focus. Asked about a showdown with Stevenson, Kovalev stated simply, “I’m ready for anyone.” His reply was the same regarding a rematch with Pascal.
Pascal stated he felt it was “a good fight for the fans. I gave my best. I don’t want to take anything away from Kovalev. He’s a great champion…but that was a bullsh*t stoppage. I was still in the fight. That was a tough fight for both of us and I don’t know why the referee stopped the fight. It’s not hockey.”
Pascal, who didn’t appear out on his feet, was surely in trouble and it was a tough judgment call. Regardless of where one falls on the finish, both men gave the paying fans everything they could have hoped for on Saturday night.
In a steady but uninspired Heavyweight clash, 30-year old Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov (20-0-1, 12 KO), 218 ½, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, won a questionable unanimous decision over 38-year old two-time former Cruiserweight titlist Steve Cunningham (28-7, 13 KO), 209 ½, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The loss ends a three-fight winning streak for Cunningham. The referee was Marlon Wright.
Cunningham controlled the first half of the fight, jabbing and outworking Glazkov. There was little drama or action to be observed but it was effective boxing.
Glazkov showed some life in round seven, getting closer and forcing some exchanges with the fight potentially slipping away. The action continued at a better clip in round eight, both men exchanging hooks just before the bell. Cunningham appeared to take his a little worse but didn’t look hurt.
Cunningham was rattled with a couple of right hands in round nine. Glazkov lost the mouthpiece on a hard right under the armpit and had some issues with his cup in the round. While Cunningham was still getting off the jab, Glazkov was staging what amounted to a rally with harder shots in exchanges. It didn’t look at the end like he’d done enough to win but the second half was close enough to cast some doubt on what the scores might be.
At 115-113 and 116-112 twice, Glazkov got the win. It was hard to figure out where he might have won eight rounds, but Glazkov continues a charmed start that also includes another debatable draw against Malik Scott.
Glazkov entered the bout rated #2 by the IBF, #5 by the WBC, and #7 by the WBO and inches towards a potential shot at World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko.
The televised opener featured a glacially paced Light Heavyweight affair.
Showing the merits of his better experience, 27-year old Isaac Chilemba (24-2-2, 10 KO), 175, of Johannesburg, South Africa, easily outboxed a previously undefeated and mostly unwilling 29-year old Vasily Lepikhin (17-1, 9 KO), 175, of Gelendhzik, Russia, for a ten-round shutout. Using his jab and steady rights and lefts, Chilemba bruised the eyes of Lepikhin and bloodied his nose. Lepikhin offered some jabs and occasional body shots but lacked much spirit is his effort. Lepikhin was a late replacement for big punching Artur Beterbiev. The referee was Michael Griffin.
Chilemba was awarded scores of 100-90 and 99-91 twice. He is likely to at least hold serve having entered the bout rated #2 by the WBC, #6 by the WB), and #7 by the IBF at 175 lbs.
The card was broadcast on in the US on premium outlet HBO as part of its “World Championship Boxing” series, promoted by Main Events and Interbox.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
