| Jean Pascal | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Jean-Thenistor Pascal |
| Rated at | Light Middleweight (Amateur) Super Middleweight Light Heavyweight (Current) |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Reach | 72" |
| Nationality | Haitian, Canadian |
| Born | October 28, 1982 Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 29 |
| Wins | 26 |
| Wins by KO | 16 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Canada | ||
| Jeux de la Francophonie | ||
| Gold | 2001 Ottawa-Hull | Light Middleweight |
| Commonwealth Games | ||
| Gold | 2002 Manchester | Light Middleweight |
| Pan American Games | ||
| Bronze | 2003 S Domingo | Middleweight |
Jean-Thenistor Pascal (born October 28, 1982 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion of the world.
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When Pascal was 4, his mother (a nurse) and older brother (Nicholson Poulard) left Haiti for a better life and education. They settled in Laval, Quebec, just outside of Montreal. His father, a well-respected politician, remained in Haiti. Pascal played hockey and soccer, but watching his older brother become the Quebec boxing champion in 1996—Pascal, at 13 years of age, started to visit boxing gym "Club Champions St-Michel" once or twice every week. His first trainer was Sylvain Gagnon, who considered Pascal to be very talented. According to an interview from May 2005, Pascal's idol was Roy Jones Jr..[1]
He represented Canada as a middleweight at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Pascal made his professional debut on February 3, 2005, defeating Justin Hahn by second round technical knockout. After nine professional fights Pascal fought for the Canada National Super Middleweight title and the Quebec boxing Council (CQB) title in a national bout against Martin Desjardins, Winning the fight by KO 7. After two more fights Pascal bagged the TAB (Trans America Boxing) super middleweight title against Darnell Boone in his first ten round contest. Soon after Pascal fought Lucas Green Arias on September 30, 2006, at the Montreal Casino. The fight was for the vacant WBC Latino super middleweight title. Pascal sent him to the canvas with a flurry of punches in the sixth round. Arias got up for the final second of the round, but moments later slid off the stool in his corner, vigorously rubbing his head. He was unable to get up for the seventh round, making Pascal the winner. He was given oxygen in the ring and then was taken to the hospital on a stretcher.[2] It was revealed that he suffered a subdural hematoma.[3]
On November 18, 2006, Pascal defeated Jermain Mackey by unanimous decision to win the WBO NABO super middleweight title. Pascal then defeated Lafarrell Bunteng by unanimous decision on March 10, 2007, Defending the NABO belt.
With his win over Bunteng, Pascal fought for the NABO, NABA, and NABF national championships against Christian Cruz. This win solidified his reputation at the national level. After defeating Christian Cruz by technical knockout in the tenth round, Pascal fought former world title challenger Kingsley Ikeke on August 3, 2007. Pascal dominated Ikeke and won by unanimous decision. Later that year, he defeated Esteban Camou and Brian Norman.
His next fight took place on January 11, 2008 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida against Omar Pittman. Pascal dropped Pittman with a left hook in round two and was in control for the first six rounds, but Pittman managed to hurt Pascal in rounds seven and eight. Pascal came back strong in the last two rounds and won by unanimous decision. After the fight with Pittman, Pascal got in a verbal conflict with Edison Miranda. There were brief talks of a possible fight between Pascal and Miranda for the summer of 2008 but it quickly fell apart.
Pascal fought for the vacant WBC Super Middleweight title on December 6, 2008 at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England against unbeaten British fighter and top contender Carl Froch. Pascal held his own, with both men consistently tagging each other throughout the bout. In the end he was outpointed in a close exciting contest. The scorecards read 112-116,111-117, and 110-118. Froch went on to defeat world class Jermain Taylor and top contender Andre Dirrell. After that fight Pascal fought Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas on April 4, 2009 and won the fight by knockout in the fifth round.
After losing to Carl Froch and jumping back after knocking out Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas, Pascal decided to go up in weight and fight as a light heavyweight.
He then went on to win the WBC light heavyweight title from Adrian Diaconu on June 19, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. About two months after the fight on August 12, 2009 the city of Laval honored Pascal.
Pascal defended his newly crowned WBC light heavyweight title for the first time on September 25, 2009 against the WBC mandatory opponent, aged Italian veteran Silvio Branco. Pascal won the fight by a 10th-round TKO, after knocking Branco down once in round 7 and twice in round 10.
Pascal's second title defense came on December 11, 2009 in a rematch against Adrian Diaconu. Just like the first fight against Diaconu, the fight ended in another win by decision. Throughout the fight Pascal seemed to be having problems with his right arm, starting around round 5. However it did appear that his cutman, Russ Anber, was able to pop the shoulder back in before the start of round 11. Five days after the fight on December 16, 2009 Pascal underwent arthroscopic surgery for his right shoulder.[4] Doctors removed a bone chip and repaired the labrum in his shoulder.
At the end of 2009, Ring Magazine rated Pascal as the 65th best boxer in the world as part of their yearly Top One Hundred Boxers ranking. This was the first time Pascal had been featured on the list.[5]
In June 2010, Pascal re-signed a multi-million dollar contract with promoter Groupe Yvon Michel in which he was guaranteed $1,050,000 to defend his WBC light heavyweight title against Chad Dawson, as well as another $1,500,000 guaranteed in the fight following Dawson, which happened to be Bernard Hopkins. The contract is the most lucrative ever given out to a boxer in Quebec boxing history. Pascal has become the first Canadian boxer to receive more than a million dollars for a fight in Canada.[6]
For Pascal's third title defense he fought Chad Dawson for his WBC light heavyweight title, Dawson's IBO light heavyweight title, and Ring Magazine's vacant light heavyweight title. Pascal dominated the early action and worked well in the middle rounds but seemed to tire late and get frequently caught by the favored Dawson. Pascal won the fight by a technical decision part way through the eleventh round due to an accidental head butt that caused a major cut over Dawson's right eye and was stopped by the ring-side doctor. However Pascal easily won the fight according to the judges' scorecards with scores of 108–101 and 106–103.[7]
Following Pascal's upset of Chad Dawson, 45-year-old Bernard Hopkins was soon named his next opponent for him to defend his WBC, IBO, and Ring Magazine light heavyweight titles.[8][9][10][11][12] Within the first 48 hours of tickets being on sale for Pascal/Hopkins, more than 15,000 tickets were sold.[13] In preparation for the fight, Pascal spent forty days training in Miami.[14]
The fight took place at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City on December 18, 2010. Pascal started strong in the fight, scoring two knockdowns in the first three rounds. One knockdown in the first round, which was disputed by Hopkins as a illegal blow to the back of the head, and another knockdown in the third round. However following the early rounds, the two fighters each held their own, however only to have the fight end in a controversial majority draw.
At the end of 2010, Ring Magazine rated Pascal as the 14th best boxer in the world as part of their yearly Top One Hundred Boxers ranking. Pascal moved up fifty-one places on the list, compared to his 2009 ranking of 65. The jump in the rankings was directly attributed to Pascal's upset of Chad Dawson, since the list came out before Pascal fought Bernard Hopkins.[15]
Following the controversial majority draw of Pascal/Hopkins in December 2010. Hopkins expressed a number of mixed emotions following the fight, the most noted of which was frustration. Hopkins, who had refused to fight outside of the United States since 1994, felt there was a judging bias based on the fight being held in Quebec, Canada. As well as a discrimination of his age.
Hopkins later criticized Pascal's performance, claiming that Pascal took more damage during the fight and that he clinched frequently. However when Hopkins was asked about a potential rematch, he replaced most definitely only to claim that he was "too dangerous for anybody" and then went on to complain that GYM promotions was dragging the fight out to make him older so that he would lose.
However, Pascal defended his performance, by noting his two knockdowns he scored early in the fight and defending the legitimacy of the judges. Pascal then expressed that he was unsatisfied with the decision and preferred to have won the fight rather than settle with a draw. When asked about a potential rematch he responded, "If he wants a rematch, anytime".
The rematch with Bernard Hopkins was held on May 21, 2011 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, broadcasted on HBO World Championship Boxing.
The bout began with both fighters feeling each other out for the first few rounds. However in the third round, Hopkins began to find success with the right hand and shook the knees of Pascal. In the fourth round, both fighters exchanged power shots frantically with Hopkins looking slightly wobbled at the end of the round. Later on before the seventh round began Hopkins began doing push-ups in the ring. In the ninth round Pascal's glove touched the mat after a cupping shot and was ruled a slip. This occurred again in the tenth. The fight concluded with the judges scoring the bout, 112-116, 114-115, and 113-115.
| 26 Wins (16 knockouts, 10 decisions), 2 Losses (2 by decision), 1 Draw | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 26-2-1 | Bernard Hopkins | UD | 12 (12) | 2011-05-21 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Lost The Ring and WBC World Light Heavyweight titles. Vacant WBC Diamond Light Heavyweight title also on the line. |
| Draw | 26-1-1 | Bernard Hopkins | MD | 12 (12) | 2010-12-18 | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada | Retained The Ring and WBC World Light Heavyweight titles. |
| Win | 26–1 | Chad Dawson | TD | 11 (12) | 2010-08-14 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Retained WBC World Light Heavyweight title and won vacant The Ring Light Heavyweight title. |
| Win | 25–1 | Adrian Diaconu | UD | 12 (12) | 2009-12-11 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Retained WBC World Light Heavyweight title. |
| Win | 24–1 | Silvio Branco | TKO | 10 (12), 2:19 | 2009-09-25 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Retained WBC World Light Heavyweight title. |
| Win | 23–1 | Adrian Diaconu | UD | 12 (12) | 2009-06-19 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Won WBC World Light Heavyweight title. |
| Win | 22–1 | Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas | KO | 5 (12), 0:42 | 2009-04-04 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Won WBO inter-continental super middleweight title. |
| Loss | 21–1 | Carl Froch | UD | 12 (12) | 2008-12-06 | Nottingham, England, United Kingdom | For vacant WBC World Super Middleweight title. |
| Win | 21–0 | Omar Pittman | UD | 10 (10) | 2008-01-11 | Hollywood, Florida, USA | |
| Win | 20–0 | Brian Norman | UD | 10 (10) | 2007-12-07 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Retained NABA, NABF and WBO NABO super middleweight titles. |
| Win | 19–0 | Esteban Camou | KO | 3 (10), 2:37 | 2007-10-06 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 18–0 | Kingsley Ikeke | UD | 12 (12) | 2007-08-03 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Retained NABF super middleweight title. |
| Win | 17–0 | Christian Cruz | TKO | 10 (12), 2:00 | 2007-06-08 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Retained WBO NABO super middleweight title and won vacant NABA and NABF super middleweight titles. |
| Win | 16–0 | Lafarrell Bunting | UD | 12 (12) | 2007-03-10 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Retained WBO NABO super middleweight title. |
| Win | 15–0 | Jermain Mackey | UD | 12 (12) | 2006-11-18 | Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada | Won the vacant WBO NABO super middleweight title. |
| Win | 14–0 | Lucas Green Arias | TKO | 6 (12), 3:00 | 2006-09-30 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Won the vacant WBC latino super middleweight title. |
| Win | 13–0 | Darnell Boone | UD | 10 (10) | 2006-06-23 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Won the vacant Trans America Boxing (TAB) super middleweight title. |
| Win | 12–0 | Melroy Corbin | TKO | 5 (8), 2:37 | 2006-03-11 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 11–0 | Eric Howard | TKO | 2 (8), 2:30 | 2006-02-25 | Gatineau, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 10–0 | Martin Desjardins | TKO | 7 (10), 2:16 | 2005-12-10 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Won the vacant Canadian super middleweight title and vacant Quebec Boxing Council (CQB) super middleweight title. |
| Win | 9–0 | Gerardo Soria | TKO | 4 (8), 2:36 | 2005-11-19 | Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 8–0 | James Crawford | TKO | 3 (8), 1:47 | 2005-10-29 | Gatineau, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 7–0 | Jesse Sanders | KO | 1 (6), 1:45 | 2005-10-15 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 6–0 | Ricardo Kellman | TKO | 2 (6), 2:50 | 2005-09-10 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 5–0 | Homer Gibbins | TKO | 2 (4), 1:45 | 2005-07-13 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 4–0 | Donnie Pendelton | TKO | 2 (4), 3:00 | 2005-06-18 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 3–0 | Eddie O'Neal | UD | 4 (4) | 2005-03-03 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 2–0 | Jesse Londo | KO | 1 (4), 0:50 | 2005-02-12 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 1–0 | Justin Hahn | TKO | 2 (4), 2:17 | 2005-02-03 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Professional debut. |
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Adrian Diaconu |
WBC Light Heavyweight Champion June 19, 2009 – May 12, 2011 |
Succeeded by Bernard Hopkins |
| Vacant
Title last held by
Joe Calzaghe |
The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion August 14, 2010 – May 12, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by Chad Dawson |
IBO Light Heavyweight Champion August 14, 2010 – May 12, 2011 Stripped |
Vacant |
|
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