This Saturday night live on HBO from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, Sergey Kovalev takes his show on the road to face former lineal 175 pound champ Jean Pascal. Can Pascal pull off another upset on his home turf or will the Krusher continue his winning ways? Plus, heavyweight contenders collide in the co-feature when Steve Cunningham and Vyacheslav Glazkov meet in the squared circle.
If there was any question of his supremacy Sergey Kovalev made it crystal clear who the top light heavyweight in the world was in his last outing. In the process the “Krusher” delivered a performance for the ages dominating future hall of famer Bernard Hopkins.
Sergey controlled the action from ding to dong and now has his sights set on another top 175-pounder. It was about a year ago last March when the boxing world wondered who would be left for Kovalev to fight in the way of big names after Adonis Stevenson left Duva & Company at the negotiation table.
Previously it was Bernard Hopkins who looked to be the odd man out at light heavyweight with HBO controlling the key pieces in place for an unofficial 175 tourney. Al Haymon stepped in and Stevenson fled the coup in favor of Showtime and a matchup against Hopkins. Stevenson drug his feet and before we knew it news came down that Hopkins would be the first Golden Boy fighter to grace HBO’s airwaves in sometime. Kovalev went from being black-balled to controlling his own destiny at 175.
In 2010, Jean Pascal shook up the light heavyweight division by uprooting the lineal champion at the time Chad Dawson. Prior to facing the top dog at 175, Pascal engaged in a spirited tussle against Carl Froch. A shoulder injury slowed him after a fast start, and ultimately ended up costing him any chance to win rounds late. Four months after beating Dawson, Pascal moved on to bigger things facing Bernard Hopkins in his own backyard. A fast start saw BHop touch the canvas not once but twice. Eventually, Hopkins got his bearings back and rallied to a draw. The rematch had less two-action with Pascal on the losing end forcing him to regroup.
Time passed as Pascal waited patiently on a matchup delayed from injury against Lucian Bute, a fight that finally happened in late January 2014. Pascal once again faded down the stretch in the Bute fight but defiantly showed some improvements. The most notable change was his ability to pot shot and move out of range. Jean adding Roy Jones Jr. as an assistant to his corner and the influence was easy to see as Pascal did his best impression as a poor man’s RJJ version.
Can Pascal’s awkward style, improved gameplan, and athleticism create problems for Sergey? I think it will cause some early issues as Kovalev attempts to push the pace and pressure Pascal. Jabs to the head, chest, and stomach for Pascal will come in handy as a deterrent. Funky angles and timed pot shots as Sergey attacks will keep him honest. Workrate and stamina have always been a problem for the Haitian native. His fast starts followed by inactivity and shell defense will be the start to Pascal ending facing a killer like Kovalev.
Running or boxing from range with movement whatever you happen to call it, is very tiring on the legs and is not as easy as it looks. Sure it can help a fighter stay away from the bigger shots. It can also result in getting tired and not scoring enough meaningful punches back.
For Sergey the plan will be the same as always as he tries to close the gap and land heavy shots to the head and body. He proved in the Bernard Hopkins fight that his footwork and distance is very educated and in no way resembles a face first carless brawler. He may not be the fastest of foot and hand speed but his ability to close the gap patiently is vastly underrated.
Let’s say Pascal does keep a better workrate than normal and is able to land cleanly, I still don’t see how Kovalev won’t penetrate his guard. Pascal will move his head and upper body some but is often off balance with his hands down which will be a big no-no versus Sergey. When Pascal does have his guard high it usual means he is covering up ear muff style allowing his opponent to swing freely. Majority of Pascal’s closer fights have featured exchanges something that will be the kiss of death in this style matchup.
Early on, maybe at the midpoint, this fight will be highly competitive on the scorecards. Movement and hand speed will give Pascal an early lead. At some point, whether it’s in an exchange or Pascal begins to gas, Kovalev will begin to apply pressure that eventually will have a major effect on Pascal. Pascal more than likely makes it the distance with a few scary moments in what should be mildly entertaining fight.
My official prediction is Sergey Kovalev by Unanimous Decision.
P.S. Don’t forget there’s an intriguing heavyweight fight (that’s right I said it) to support the top bill between Steve Cunningham and Yyacheslav Glazkov. Outside the ring family struggles have proved more difficult than inside the ring for USS Cunningham of late. One thing is for certain Cunningham will leave it all in the ring. However it’s fair to ponder how much does he have left to give the boxing world? The first meeting with Tomasz Adamek was very brutal – Tyson Fury finished him off, and Steve looked all but done draped on the ropes from a severe knockdown by Amir Mansour. Not to mention he visited the mat in his last outing versus Natu Visinia.
His opponent Vyacheslav Glazkov, an unbeaten fighter at 19-0-1, looked promising against a now faded Tomasz Adamek one year ago. He followed that promising performance up with a subpar outing against Derric Rossy 5 months later. I see a slow start that eventually turns into fireworks. Neither guy is considered a big heavyweight which means they can throw punches and sustain a decent pace better than your average out of shape clinch fest we see at the weight class. Will find out if Cunningham can summon enough strength to beat Glazkov in a bout that should open this HBO doubleheader with a bang.
Glazkov looked good clearly beating Tomaszk Adamek but failed to repeats that performance against Rousy. Derrick Rousy was able to close the gap and exploit Glazkov to an extent. Both men have skill to compete at a this level. Both have major flaws making this close to a pick’em type matchup.
Written by Chris Carlson Owner and Host of Rope A Dope Radio blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio
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