Jean Pascal

For other uses, see Jean-Pascal.

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 (1982-10-28) 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 Haitian-Canadian professional boxer. He is the former WBC and The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion.

Early life

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 after 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..

He represented Canada as a middleweight at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Professional career

Super middleweight

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. It was revealed that he suffered a subdural hematoma.

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 boxer Jermain Taylor and top contender Andre Dirrell. Since the fight, Froch and Pascal have become friends on a personal level and have made a promise to face each other again in the future.

After that fight, Pascal fought Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas on April 4, 2009 and won the fight by knockout in the fifth round.

Light Heavyweight

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. 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.

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.

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.

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. Within the first 48 hours of tickets being on sale for Pascal/Hopkins, more than 15,000 tickets were sold. In preparation for the fight, Pascal spent forty days training in Miami.

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.

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.

Upcoming fights and future

• Immediately following Pascal's win over Chad Dawson in August 2010, Dawson expressed a desire to have a rematch according to a rematch clause in the agreed fight contract, however according to this clause, Dawson does not have to be the next person to have to fight Pascal. Oddly enough Pascal has appeared to disregard this clause in order to have had a rematch with Bernard Hopkins. So it remains unclear if Pascal will face Dawson again.
• Following Pascal/Dawson the commentators of HBO World Championship Boxing (Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, and Emanuel Steward) who televised the fight speculated about a possible match up between Pascal and Lucian Bute, claiming that it has the chance of being the biggest fight between two Canadians on Canadian soil. However as of September 2010 the fight is unlikely to happen, due to Bute having no interest in moving up in weight from super middleweight to light heavyweight and Pascal has stated that he feels no need to "chase" Bute.
• Carl Froch has talked about having a rematch with Pascal as far back as July 2009. However it was not until a report in March 2010 that Froch admitted to making a verbal agreement to fight Pascal again as soon as the Super Six tournament is over in 2011. As Froch says he has plans to move up to the light heavyweight division. According to Froch, "...We have had a handshake on it that we would fight each other. He wants to get the blemish off his record and I said I would give him the chance to do it. I will step up and fight him for the world title."

Titles

• WBC Light Heavyweight Champion (June 19, 2009–May 21, 2011)
  • Won title from Adrian Diaconu on June 19, 2009.
  • First defense was against Silvio Branco on September 25, 2009.
  • Second defense was against Adrian Diaconu on December 11, 2009.
  • Third defense was against Chad Dawson on August 14, 2010.
  • Fourth defense was against Bernard Hopkins on December 18, 2010.
  • Lost the title against Bernard Hopkins on May 21, 2011.
• IBO Light Heavyweight Champion (August 14, 2010–May 21, 2011)
  • Won title from Chad Dawson on August 14, 2010.
  • First defense was against Bernard Hopkins on December 18, 2010.
  • Lost the title against Bernard Hopkins on May 21, 2011.
• Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion (August 14, 2010–May 21, 2011)
  • Won the vacant title over Chad Dawson on August 14, 2010.
  • First defense was against Bernard Hopkins on December 18, 2010.
  • Lost the title against Bernard Hopkins on May 21, 2011.
• WBO Inter-Continental Super Middleweight Champion (2009)
• NABO, NABA, NABF Super Middleweight Champion (2006–2008)
• WBC Latino Super Middleweight Champion (2006–2007)
• Trans-American Boxing Super Middleweight Champion (2005–2007)
• Canadian and Quebec Super Middleweight Champion (2005–2006)
• Bronze medalist at the 2003 Pan American Games
• Gold medalist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
• Boxer of the Year in Canada (2001–2003)

Professional record

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 WBC & The Ring Light Heavyweight titles. For vacant WBC Diamond Light Heavyweight title.
Draw	26-1-1	Bernard Hopkins	MD	12 (12)	2010-12-18	Quebec City, Quebec, Canada	Retained WBC & The Ring Light Heavyweight titles.
Win	26–1	Chad Dawson	TD	11 (12)	2010-08-14	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained WBC & won vacant The Ring Light Heavyweight titles.
Win	25–1	Adrian Diaconu	UD	12 (12)	2009-12-11	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained WBC Light Heavyweight title.
Win	24–1	Silvio Branco	TKO	10 (12), 2:19	2009-09-25	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained WBC Light Heavyweight title.
Win	23–1	Adrian Diaconu	UD	12 (12)	2009-06-19	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Won WBC 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 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 NABO, NABF & NABA 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 NABO and won vacant NABF & NABA Super Middleweight titles.
Win	16–0	Lafarrell Bunting	UD	12 (12)	2007-03-10	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained NABO Super Middleweight title.
Win	15–0	Jermain Mackey	UD	12 (12)	2006-11-18	Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada	Won vacant NABO Super Middleweight title.
Win	14–0	Lucas Green Arias	TKO	6 (12), 3:00	2006-09-30	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Won vacant WBC Latino Super Middleweight title.
Win	13–0	Darnell Boone	UD	10 (10)	2006-06-23	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Won vacant Trans America Boxing 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 vacant Quebec Boxing Council & Canadian Super Middleweight titles.
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.

External links

• The 9th of August 2010, www.jeanpascalboxing.com Jean Pascal's official revamp website came out (English, French)
• Professional boxing record for Jean Pascal from BoxRec

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