Lucian Bute Scheduled To Fight Jean Pascal In Montreal May 25

Last week, several sources broke the news that former world champion Jean Pascal’s camp, Groupe Yvon Michel, and Lucian Bute’s camp, Interbox, were working on a possible fight that would take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal on May 25th.

This is an intriguing thought as both boxers had separate bouts scheduled for this spring. First and foremost, Jean Pascal was scheduled to fight Chad Dawson for the WBC Light heavyweight title on May 25th. The Canadian new agency QMI was first to break the news that the Pascal vs. Dawson II fight scheduled to air on HBO was postponed because of injuries.

As for Lucian Bute, this fight against Pascal makes more sense at the moment than a rematch with Carl Froch because of the financial reward involved. This is an ironic twist because in the recent past, Pascal has accused Bute of dodging him in favour of bigger paydays against the likes of Carl Froch and a potential matchup with Andre Ward.

For this fight, both Bute (31-1, 24 KO) and Pascal (27-2-1, 16 KO) should earn around $2 million each.

“Everyone here [in Canada] has wanted the fight for a long time. It will be the biggest event in boxing history in Canada,” said Jean Bedard of Interbox in an interview on February 18.

“Bute and Pascal are going to fight each other, It’s just when we don’t know.. We are working on different scenarios,” said Yvon Michel of Groupe Yvon Michel on February 18.

If this fight does in fact happen, Bute would be moving up in weight to 175 lb. to fight Pascal at Light heavyweight. Another factor that should not be overlooked is Pascal’s shoulder problems. This issue needs to be taken seriously as this could very well be the biggest fight in Canadian history.

I don’t believe we will know if HBO or Showtime will be broadcasting the fight until all contracts have been signed and the official announcement is made. I expect the announcement of the fight with all the details by the end of the week.