Hopkins survived(even though i think it should have been stopped)
Pascal is younger and is renowned for his chin, and yet people on here are like "Kovalev will get him out in 4 rounds" etc.
I will be interested to see the odds on a kovalev points win.
The closer the fight gets the more I think this will be a toss up fight. Pascal is a very unorthodox fighter. I can see him hurting kovalev bad maybe even dropping kovalev due to kovalev aggression. 60/40 to kovalev for me.
I put some money down on a Kovalev late stoppage. Pascal is pretty much known for gassing late and he was close to getting stopped by feather fists Dawson.
Pascal has better power than his record lets on. I expected to see him make Bute do the Andrade shuffle when they fought, it's just this damn obsession he has with fighting like Roy (Roy being his trainer doesn't help)
Pascal has killer instinct, but Roy didn't get the KO over Griffin fighting like Roy, he went Sonny Liston on Griffin like there was no tomorrow
Pascal should've tried focusing on another style earlier in his career, it probably would have got him a bit more success. But trying to mimmick Roy did get him to a World title, so what do I know
Hopkins survived(even though i think it should have been stopped)
Pascal is younger and is renowned for his chin, and yet people on here are like "Kovalev will get him out in 4 rounds" etc.
I will be interested to see the odds on a kovalev points win.
Blame the HBO hype machine tbh; Hopkins has been "old man" fighting since the Roy Jones rematch, likely earlier; use all the trips/traps that he's picked up over the years to slow down the fight and control pace behind 400-500 punches a fight.
Kovalev knocked off Hopkins, and HBO immediately sold it as if he just knocked off the spry vet who had just strung together 20 title defenses, rather than the aging old mongoose hanging on by just sheer guile.
And Hopkins still went the full twelve. Not a gambling man, but I wouldn't be shocked that we end up seeing Stevenson-Pascal, for the unified and undisputed light heavyweight championship of the world, in Montreal.
Pascal is a good fighter. I can see him giving Kovalev a good fight. I actually don't have a pick. It's an interesting match.
They fought different versions of Hopkins, 4 years apart, so they didn't exactly fight the same fighter with the same reflexes.
And Pascal's stamina is not bad, he just uses more energy than the average boxer. For the way he fights, yeah, he may have low stamina, but that's relative. But if he fought like Mayweather or Lara, all economical with his movement and volume, he would have normal stamina. He has a very energetic style.
Pascal is no Roy Jones Jr. and that's what it would take to beat Kovalev.
It's not that Pascal is a bad fighter, it's that Kovalev is a great one.
i think styles make fights, Pascal has slightly better than average power, Kovalev will know this and will not want to comitt. Pascals chin is legendary.
Ill be very surprised if ths doesnt go the distance.
He has bad stamina, mediocre defense, and doesn't throw enough to freeze Kovalev.
Pascal's chance is to hurt Kovalev early, hurt him often, and keep him respectful. Otherwise Kovalev's activity and power will ruin him by the middle rounds.
Pascal can bang too so he has a decent chance i think its the fact hes a 4 round fighter and kovalev can go up a gear when he chooses too but i agree late ko or ud for kovalev imo but wouldnt be shocked if pascal chinned him