Sergey Kovalev stops Jean Pascal, retains titles in entertaining slugfest
The light heavyweight division is shaping up as one of boxing's most entertaining, and Sergey Kovalev is leading the parade.
The hard-hitting Russian outlasted Jean Pascal in Montreal on Saturday at the Bell Centre, retaining his IBF, WBA and WBO light heavyweight belts with an eighth-round technical knockout.
Kovalev had the edge throughout most of the fight, and put Pascal down for the first time in his career in the third round, when he knocked him through the ropes. But Pascal came to fight and, for a stretch, gave as good as he got.
But Kovalev simply hits too hard and it finally wore Pascal down. Kovalev hurt Pascal with a crackling left hand late in the seventh round, and it seemed that Pascal hadn't recovered by the time the eighth round started.
A left and then a series of rights by Kovalev sent a stunned Pascal staggering back into the corner. As Kovalev was going for the finish, he slipped. Referee Luis Pabon broke the fighters, giving Pascal some much needed recovery time.
But when the action resumed, Kovalev raced across the ring and fired two rights than landed on the button. The first snapped Pascal's head and the second, a short chopping right, convinced Pabon he'd had enough.
"I got him with a good right, a right hand, and after that, he was mine," said Kovalev, who was coming off a whitewash victory over the legendary Bernard Hopkins in November.
Pascal, who landed several big blows that seemed to hurt Kovalev, was angry about the stoppage. He felt the way the fight had been going proved Pabon should have given him a chance.
Pascal did appear to be seriously hurt and was not defending well, but he didn't see it that way.
"I think it was a good fight for the fans, an action fight, and I did my best," Pascal said. "I don't take anything away from Kovalev because he's a great champion, but I think it was a [expletive] stoppage. It was a fight fight for both of us. I don't know why the referee stopped the fight."
A rematch would certainly displease no one, given the action the bout had throughout. Kovalev threw more than twice as many total punches, 471-200, and landed nearly twice as many, 122-68. But Pascal connected on 54 of 131 power shots, an absurdly high 41 percent.
Kovalev, though, landed enough hard, clean shots of his own that it didn't ultimately matter.
He said he is open to a rematch with Pascal or a bout with WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, who defends his title on April 4 against Sakio Bika in Quebec City. Stevenson jumped from HBO to Showtime last year in order not to fight Kovalev, but Kovalev said if the fight can be made, he's game.
Whichever way they decide to go, it appears there are a number of entertaining fights in the light heavyweight division to be made.
