The
latest chapter in the storyline of the potential full unification of the
Light-Heavyweight division took place on March 14th at the Bell Centre in
Montreal, Canada where undefeated unified WBO/IBF/WBA Light-Heavyweight world
champion Sergey Kovalev defended his crown against former WBC world champion
Jean Pascal. A fight that presented an interesting clash of styles between a
fighter in Kovalev who is known for his punching power going against an opponent
in Pascal who has an unorthodox style that combines hand speed, power, and who
has the ability to execute his offense in spurts.
Prior
to this fight I stated that for Pascal to be successful in this fight I
believed that he needed to establish himself as an elusive target, look to play the role of counter puncher, and
look to capitalize on openings that Kovalev might leave as well as find a way
to nullify the champion’s consistent pressure. It was not surprising to see the
fight begin with Kovalev looking to immediately pressure and walk Pascal down.
Despite
being known as a power puncher, Kovalev has also shown the ability to be
tactical and measured in his attack. This fight was no exception as the
champion’s jab and right hand were a focal point of his offense from the
outset. Kovalev was able to mix his jab to the body and head of Pascal to land
effectively with his right hand.
Although
Kovalev was the more active of the two fighters, Pascal was able to have
success when he was able to land counter punches and able to land periodically
at points where Kovalev was not on the offensive. A problem for Pascal in the
early rounds seemed to be that although he would have periodic success landing
right hands, left hooks, and body punches, he had trouble landing his punches
in combination. This can be attributed to Kovalev’s ability to control distance
with his jab, make Pascal miss, and return offense when Pascal would have
success.
A
flush right hand from Kovalev sent Pascal partially through the ropes in the
closing seconds of round three and he was credited with a knockdown. The knockdown was the first of Pascal’s
career as a result of the ropes holding Pascal up as determined by Referee
Louis Pabon. Despite appearing that he may have been out on his feet, Pascal withstood
a barrage of punches from the champion at the beginning of round four and
landed some solid counter right hands of his own throughout the round.
A question that is often asked of fighters who
are known as power punchers and knockout artists as Kovalev is, is how that
fighter responds when an opponent takes their power shots, gets knocked down,
but keeps fighting. Kovalev began the fifth round throwing punches with both
hands and did not appear discouraged by the success of the challenger in the
fourth round. Pascal however, would continue to rally and continued to have
success landing counter punches to the head and landing punches to the body of
the champion in what was Pascal’s best round of the fight to that point. Pascal
also succeeded in being the first fighter to test Kovalev’s ability to take a
punch as he was able to stun the champion particularly when he was able to
counter with right hands to the head.
To
the champion’s credit he showed a granite chin and did not slow his offensive
output, despite Pascal’s success and increasing aggression in rounds five and
six. The ebb and flow shifted back to the champion in round seven as Kovalev
was the more active of the two fighters. Kovalev was able to execute his
offense off of his jab as was the case in the early rounds. What became a
spirited battle between two of the Light-Heavyweight division’s elite would
come to a conclusion in round eight.
After
stunning Pascal with a left hook that sent Pascal into Kovalev’s corner,
Kovalev was inadvertently tripped by Pascal and knocked down to the canvas.
Pascal, clearly suffering the effects of the left hook and the barrage of
punches that preceded it staggered into a neutral corner. The bout resumed and
after taking two flush right hands from Kovalev, the fight was stopped by
Referee Luis Pabon. Official time of stoppage was 1:03 of the eighth round.
The
win for Kovalev, which was his fifth successful title defense keeps him in
position for a potential unification bout between himself and the winner of the
April 4th WBC Light-Heavyweight world championship fight between champion
Adonis Stevenson and former WBC Super-Middleweight champion Sakio Bika. In his
last two fights however, Sergey Kovalev has answered some questions that some
may have been asking.
Kovalev
proved in his unification bout against Bernard Hopkins that he is more than a
mere seek and destroy knockout artist and could go a full twelve rounds in a fight that he dominated from start to
finish. In this fight against Jean Pascal, Kovalev showed not only the ability
to take a punch, but also to respond well to a fighter who showed significant
resistance, and who was able to recover from being knocked down.
There
is simply not much more that you can ask of a fighter than what Sergey Kovalev
was able to do in this fight. As solid a performance it was for Sergey Kovalev,
what was equally impressive was the performance and determination of Jean
Pascal who more than proved his mettle in defeat.
Pascal
was not only “Game”, but he also showed significant resistance against a
fighter who with the exception of his fight against Bernard Hopkins has carved
out a reputation as one of the sport’s most devastating knockout artists.
Although Jean Pascal did not emerge from this fight as a two-time world
champion, he has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
Whether
or not the storyline of the potential full unification of the Light-Heavyweight
division will see a conclusion with Sergey Kovalev facing the winner of the
Stevenson-Bika fight remains to be seen. If however, a fight for the undisputed
Light-Heavyweight world championship is not on the horizon for later this year,
what could be for Kovalev in the near future just might be a rematch with Jean
Pascal. It was a spirited battle between two great fighters. Pascal fought this
fight hard and is deserving of a rematch.
“And
That’s The Boxing Truth.”
The
Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.
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