Sergey Kovalev is the fighting class of the light Heavyweight division, but he needed to use all of his resources in an extremely exciting victory over former light Heavyweight champion Jean Pascal.
Kovalev established his dominance early working behind a sharp left jab and big right hand. Krusher Kovalev caught Jean Pascal with a vicious combination in the 2nd round that all but knocked Pascal out on his feet. The veteran Pascal stumbled, held, and wobbled, but in round three Krusher Kovalev hit Pascal with a vicious combination that sent Pascal through the ropes. Kovalev stalked Pascal looking for the moment to finish him, but the moment did not come right away as the big hearted, former champion Pascal dug in and found a way to not only survive, but earn Kovalev’s respect.
Jean Pascal was all but finished. He had no legs, and his eyes looked glassy. His shuffle looked more like a stumble as he desperately tried to regain his senses and survive the predictable vicious onslaught Kovalev was looking to deliver. In round 4, Pascal stopped running, planted his feet, and delivered a wild round house right hand that caught the attention of Sergey Kovalev. The sold out crowd at the Bell Centre in Montreal wnet crazy. Pascal used the momentum to take control of the fight and make Kovalev back up and fight cautiously. Pascal would use a wicked, counter left hand hook and the round house right to seize control of the fight in rounds 5, 6, and all but the last 15 seconds of round 7.
At the end of round 7, Sergey Kovalev began to get aggressive behind his stiff, jackhammer jab and caught Pascal with a short right left combination that left Pascal in a heap of trouble. Pascal stumbled back to his corner.
Kovalev lived up to his nickname, Krusher, as he came out in the 8th round and attacked his already wounded prey. Kovalev pinned Pascal in the corner and began to unload on him, but slipped and fell. Referee Louis Pabon stopped the action to allow Kovalev a chance to recover from the slip. As Pabon checked on Kovalev, Pascal stumbled (Zab Judah danced) across the ring. Kovalev turned to his corner, pointed, and laughed. As soon as Pabon restarted the action Sergey Krusher Kovalev pounced on Jean Pascal hitting him flush with two right hooks. Pabon jumped in and rightly stopped the fight at 1:03 of the 8th round.
Sergey Kovalev retains his title and improves his record to 27-0-1 (24 KO’s), while Jean Pascal falls to 29-3-1 (17 KO’s).
By Chris Williams www.cboxinginfo.com
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