Badou Jack remembers it as an accident. It left him with multiple stitches and scars. Mostly, it left him with a lesson.
It’s the lesson of losing to Marcus Browne nearly a year ago that Jack believes will be his greatest ally against Jean Pascal in an intriguing light heavyweight fight on the Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card Saturday night in Atlanta.
The card will be televised on Showtime.
“Mentally I’m better than I’ve ever been,’’ Jack (22-2-3, 13 KOs) said to reporters when the fight was first announced. “I’m hungrier and I feel like I did the first time I fought for the title. I’m always hungry, but I’m really excited for this fight.
“Sometimes, losses make you better. My first loss was an accident, and I became better because of it. The loss to Marcus Browne, it wasn’t the fairest loss, but it’s made me even hungrier. I’m going to go out there and win the fight no matter what.”
The accident was a head butt, a collision that cut Jack across the forehead. His face was a bloody mask. He fought through it, but he couldn’t fight past it. Browne wound up winning a unanimous decision on Jan. 19 in Las Vegas.
“I feel 100 percent, physically,’’ said Jack, a former super middleweight champion who will fight at light heavyweight for the fourth time. “The cut was cleared in March, and we’re way past that. I’ve been ready physically. This camp has proved that to me and my whole team.’’
In Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs), Jack sees a fighter often underestimated. He promises not to make that mistake.
“People have written Pascal off a couple of times and he always came back,’’ Jack said of the Quebec fighter who beat Browne by a technical decision on Aug. 3 in Brooklyn. “He’s a throwback fighter, who definitely knows how to fight. He brings it every time.
“He’s got more mileage than me, but I can’t overlook a guy like him. I’m ready to do whatever it takes to win the fight.’’
Whatever it takes to avoid another accident.