He's posted this on his official Facebook and it's on boxrec in Quebec 30th Jan. What do we think of this? It was a good fight but I don't see any point in a rematch
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He's posted this on his official Facebook and it's on boxrec in Quebec 30th Jan. What do we think of this? It was a good fight but I don't see any point in a rematch
I don't think a lot of hardcore fans see the point in this fight. As much as Pascal cries it was a premature stoppage, because he's never been stopped before, I think most people know that pascal potentially had his life saved by the ref. With Kovalev on the other side of the ring having his gloves wiped off, Pascal decided to go for a stroll as if someone tilted the room almost went face first in the ropes.
Freddie roach has somehow become the catalyst for the casual fan. To them, Roach could take a crap in the guy's gloves and that fighter instantly becomes Roy Jones Jr. Ali, mayweather, mike Tyson, Sugar ray Robinson and Superfly TNT rolled into one... :rolleyes: Truth be told, I like Freddy and the job he does with certain fighters. His strategy and his ring savvy and the guys personal courage in the challenge he's facing is something that is hard to come by. The more crude a fighter is, i believe the bigger effect roach can have and maybe that's good news for pascal, in that there are a few fundamentals that could improved his game and saved him a lot of trouble in the past if he embraced them rather that working on his RJJ impersonation. The problem i have is that old habits die hard and fixing those issues will take more than two months. Improving his offense and work behind the jab is something that Freddy can refine and polish. Attack angles maybe. Using his awkwardness to his favor, possibly.
The issue is that whether he reverts to his old bad habits, which I've seen him do.. or follows Freddy's advice and steps up his game, the approach still brings Pascal right into Kovalev's wheelhouse and Kovalev isn't shy about trading or taking a shot to drop the hammer on a fighter. Does the prediction most had for Pascal being stopped earlier this time, change? Maybe but I doubt it. Somewhere in the back of my mind is the feeling that pascals ability to take a shot has dropped a few notches since having his clocked cleaned in the first fight and another place deep in my heart that feels for that little girl we saw crying at ringside last time. Its a tough situation in that, there are other guys that pascal could potentially fight and maybe beat (some perhaps even handily) but his options are rather limited if he wants to be a champ again by the fact that Kovalev owns most of the that real estate and Stevenson didn't seem game on fighting pascal even though the Canadian fans have been calling for it. Maybe he could sniff around the ward camp in a few months.
The only thing scarier than a Kovalev one-two body head is not respecting that he's equally a clever boxer in there, he has half steps that leave you in a lurch like stepping off an imaginary curb. You know you messed up but by then its too late. Is Pascal still working with Roy btw? Fun fight first time around but this is more a guaranteed fan base reason to rematch, see result probably equally as brutal. Pascal is looking a bit punchy. Hope Ward has his popcorn ready!
To be fair, Kovalev is going through the division like a dose of sales, and there are others like Stevenson or Beterbiev that people might prefer, but it's not a bad defence.
I'm trying not to be disrespectful to Pascal by calling it a stay busy fight.
No more "meh" than the rest of the sport I guess.
Kovalev needs dance partners until the Ward fight and a Pascal rematch can fill a stadium in Quebec. HBO will happily buy it. Everybody makes money. It'll be a good fight for as long as it lasts. I'm OK with it.
Pascal has earned his shot against Kovalev so why not? I much prefer he fought Stevenson in an all Canadian affair.
Kovalev really has no one else to fight. He can't get the Stevenson fight so there isn't too much left to do. A Pascal rematch isn't the best option but it isn't the worst either I guess. Once he can actually fight Ward, and if he wins, he needs to move up to cruiserweight and start krushing that division.
I see the Beterbiev fight happening soon in an all Russian showdown, after Kovalev deals with Pascal again.
The Beterbiev fight will be after Ward. They need time to build Beterbiev up into a bigger name so it's a bigger fight. He'll probably be on the Kovalev-Ward undercard if the promoters can work a deal out.
In order for Roach to have any effect, Pascal with have to abandon those things that have worked to his advantage in the past but even if Roach gets him to tighten up and little and use the ring more wisely it could have a positive effect.
BTW the Ring has stripped Stevenson of their title and Kovalev was actually a mandatory for Steveson but backed out of a purse bid earlier in the year.