By Keith Idec

Jean Pascal doesn’t consider Sergey Kovalev a star, but the former light heavyweight champion definitely thinks the Russian knockout artist is a racist.

Pascal said exactly that during a press conference Monday morning to officially announce their light heavyweight championship rematch scheduled for Jan. 30 at Bell Centre in Montreal (HBO).

“He just doesn’t have no respect and no education,” said Pascal, who was stopped by Kovalev in the eighth round of their March 15 fight at Bell Centre. “He’s a racist guy. We are in 2016. This fight for me is kind of personal. I’m fighting ignorance, because he’s an ignorant guy to still be racist in 2016. Last year, he posted on Twitter a picture of a monkey to represent [Adonis] Stevenson. I don’t like Stevenson neither, but I would never do that. I post [he’s] like a chicken, because Stevenson is a chicken. He’s not a monkey. Did he put a picture of a monkey because Stevenson is black. It makes no sense. Those kind of things, they’re not supposed to have a place in society. We are in 2016.

“And also, he called myself a piece of shit, another example that he has no respect. Why does he call me a piece of sh*t? Because I’m black and sh*t is black? Because he never called any white opponent a piece of sh*t. He never called a white opponent a monkey. And right now, he’s still laughing about it because he doesn’t care about you guys. He doesn’t care. He just cares about his pocket, like Stevenson. But I hope you guys show up [to] my fight to support me because we need to teach this Russian a good lesson.”

Pascal, like Stevenson, was born in Haiti and raised in Quebec. The 33-year-old Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KOs, 1 NC) also took issue with Kovalev’s trainer, former WBA middleweight title-holder John David Jackson, for continuing to work with the unbeaten IBF/WBA/WBO 175-pound champion.

“And also,” Pascal continued, “the last thing I wanna say is people is gonna tell me like, ‘Oh Jean, you’re trying to play the racist card.’ Listen, I’m not trying to play the racist card. It’s just racist. You guys [can’t] tell me like he’s not racist because he has a black coach. Because he has a black coach doesn’t mean nothing. … Because he has a black coach doesn’t mean he’s not racist.

“And also, I have no respect for John David Jackson, a black man. John David Jackson is a black man. And after his comment, after Stevenson, he called a black man a monkey, John David Jackson is still coaching him. So I have no respect for John David Jackson for that. Probably, he’s another guy who’s only thinking about his pocket, too. Because maybe he’s there for fame, for money, because if I would be John David Jackson, I would say, ‘Kovey, I have no choice. I cannot coach you anymore because that is making no sense.’ ”

Kathy Duva – chief executive officer for Main Events, which promotes Kovalev – was bothered by Pascal’s verbal assault Monday.

“I respect the fact that Jean Pascal, who’s a warrior, is gonna get in the ring to get his ass kicked more thoroughly than he did the last time,” Duva said during the press conference. “But I do not respect much of what he said, which was ugly and uncalled for and completely unnecessary. So I’m not gonna dignify that.”

The 32-year-old Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) dismissed Pascal’s comments when it was his turn to speak during the press conference.

“I think you’re very tired of listening to this trash that he said five minutes ago,” Kovalev said. “It’s his opinion. And why I called [him] and Chickenson like that, [is] because they are. I’m not talker. I am boxer. I’m not trash-talker. I can show you January 30th what I came to do, and close his mouth for all time and forever. You know, like I’m really tired of listening to this trash to my side. He said this, he said this. It’s like just his opinion. … [Whomever] follow me on Twitter, on Facebook, everywhere on social media, understand who I am and why I say it like that.”

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.