Jean Pascal and Badou Jack have agreed to terms to face each other in a rematch later this spring. Pascal won the first bout in December.
Jean Pascal and Badou Jack are running it back up.
The light heavyweight contenders went tit for tat for 12 rounds on the Dec. 28 Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card before Pascal prevailed narrowly – and a tad controversially – on the scorecards. Now, they are headed toward a rematch after both parties agreed to terms, according to BoxingScene.
The fight could take place on three possible dates, May 9 or 23 on FOX, or May 16 on Showtime, the website reported. Al Haymon has output deals with both Showtime and Fox to showcase his Premier Boxing Champions cards.
The card could also feature a light heavyweight bout between Sullivan Barrera and Marcus Browne, who fought Jack and Pascal last year. Browne beat Jack but suffered three knockdowns en route to a technical-decision loss to Pascal.
Pascal-Jack stands to reprise what was one of the more entertaining fights in the latter half of 2019. Pascal controlled the early rounds, scoring a knockdown in Round 4, before Jack (22-3-3, 13 KOs) began to take control in the second half of the fight. He put Pascal on the canvas in the final round. Two of the judges scored it 114-112 for Pascal, while the third had it 114-112 for Jack.
Pascal has resurrected his career after flirting with retirement. Aside from a one-sided loss by decision to titleholder Dmitry Bivol, Pascal has looked sharp. He is 4-1 in his last five fights.
Badou Jack believes the lesson learned in his loss to Marcus Browne will work in his favor against Jean Pascal on Saturday.
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.”
Badou Jack (left) is hoping to bounce back from his loss to Marcus Browne last January. AP Photo / John Locher
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.’’
Jean Pascal and Badou Jack are both fighting to stay in title contention in the light heavyweight division.
Jean Pascal just wouldn’t go away.
The Haitian-Canadian, known as much for his fighting spirit as his skill set, lost a decision and his light heavyweight title to Bernard Hopkins in 2011. He bounced back. He was stopped by Sergey Kovalev in two title fights, in 2015 and 2016, and simply got back to work. He lost a decision to Eleider Alvarez in 2017 and then titleholder Dmitry Bivol last year, which seemed to signal the end of his career as an elite fighter.
Not quite. Pascal got one more big fight – against Marcus Browne in August – and this time his persistence paid off. Pascal, 36 at the time, won a close, eight-round technical decision after Browne was cut by an accidental head butt to remain in the 175-pound title hunt.
Pascal fights Badou Jack on the Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card Saturday in Atlanta on Showtime.
“I’ve been fighting at the highest level for the last 11 years,” Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs) said. “That means something. I’m a special fighter. I have things that nobody can teach, which is a chin and a heart.”
Jean Pascal (left) and Badou Jack are both fighting to remain in title contention in the light heavyweight division. Amanda Westcott / Showtime
Jack (22-2-3, 13 KOs) hasn’t fought for almost a year, since he suffered a ghastly cut on his forehead in a unanimous-decision loss to Browne last January.
Before that, the former super middleweight titleholder had his own share of disappointment. Most recently, he had to settle for draws in two of his previous three fights – against James DeGale and Adonis Stevenson – that some believe he deserved to win.
Jack, 36, also is fighting to remain in the thick of things. That fact isn’t lost on Pascal.
“I know that Badou has had a long layoff and he’s fresh and will be even hungrier. I’m always hungry and that will make it a great fight on Saturday night,” Pascal said.
For his part, Jack can’t wait to get into the ring.
“I guess you have to wait until Saturday night for me to prove that I still have it,” Jack said. “I was flat against Marcus Browne, regardless of the cut, but I feel much better this time than I did heading into that fight.
“All of the close decisions I’ve had in the past, everyone who watched those fights knows that those were wins. Saturday night I’m going to win and there will be no doubt.”
Pascal, now 37, doesn’t plan to go away just yet.
“Badou Jack is a solid fighter with great defense and good attack,” he said. “I’ve had a great camp in Puerto Rico. I’ve been away from my family for three months and I’m war ready. Make sure you tune in.”
Marcus Browne is looking to fight the winner of the Jean Pascal-Badou Jack light heavyweight bout this Saturday in Atlanta.
Marcus Browne will have a vested interest in the outcome of the Badou Jack-Jean Pascal light heavyweight bout on the Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card Saturday in Atlanta .
“Good fight,” the 29-year-old contender told Boxing Junkie. “I want the winner. I feel like I deserve the winner.”
So much so that Browne (23-1, 16 knockouts) will be ringside for the fight. Browne has a bit of history with both fighters. He dominated Jack in a career-best performance in January, winning a wide decision. He didn’t fare as well with Pascal, who knocked down the Staten Island native three times in August en route to a technical decision. The fight was stopped in the eighth round because of a cut over Browne’s brow. Repeated headbutts initiated by Pascal played a role in that, Browne said.
“(Pascal) was coming at me with his head since the second round, and the referee never warned him, never did anything,” Browne said. “It’s boxing, I don’t complain. I just want a rematch.”
Marcus Browne (left) defeated a bloodied Badou Jack last January. Brown would like to give Jack a rematch if the Swede beats Jean Pascal on Saturday. AP Photo / John Locher
Depending on what happens on Saturday night, he’d also be fine with a rematch against Jack.
“Leonard Ellerbe said [Jack] was flat that night,” Browne said. “So, I mean, if he was flat, I respect it, and I’ll give him another shot. Maybe he won’t be flat. Hell yeah, why not?”
After he takes care of business against Saturday’s winner, he wants the other titleholders in the division, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
“I don’t care which champions I’m going to fight, I’m with whatever champion that wants to fight me,” Browne said. “I’m looking to get the rematch and fighting one of those titleholders.”
But will Browne, an Al Haymon-advised boxer, be able to get those fights when Bivol is aligned with Eddie Hearn/DAZN and Beterbiev is linked with Top Rank/ESPN?
“Bulls—, man. It’s boxing, man,” Browne said. “If the guys want the fights, it can happen, man. And if the fans want the fight, it can happen. And if it makes sense, it can happen. Why not? Gary Russell fought (Vasiliy) Lomachenko, right? That was two sides of the street, right? They had to go down the same block, right?
“It’s boxing, it’s possible. It can happen. That’s where I’m at. I want it if they want it.”
Jean Pascal, who defends his title against Badou Jack on Saturday, is inspired by the “Rocky” character.
Every great movie has a sequel and Jean Pascal hopes to have one of his own against Badou Jack in a light heavyweight fight on the Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card Saturday in Atlanta on Showtime.
Pascal has been taking inspiration, if not some training tips, from “Rocky” in the fight to get his career back on track.
Before upsetting Marcus Browne by a technical decision on Aug. 3 in Brooklyn, Pascal chased chickens.
“Obviously Browne was lefty so sparring was different, but for that fight, I trained like Rocky chasing the chicken because of Browne’s style,’’ Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs) said in a release from Premier Boxing Champions. “Everyone saw me catch that chicken, too, but for this fight, I’m training like Rocky in the freezer, ready to fight.’’
Both Pascal and Jack (22-2-3, 13 KOs) have faced Browne. A badly bloodied Jack lost to him, dropping a unanimous decision nearly a year ago in Las Vegas. Pascal floored Browne three times, getting a decision when the fight was stopped in the eighth round after Browne suffered a cut from a head butt.
“Badou is a great fighter,” Pascal said. “We both always look to fight the best. In my last fight, I knew that Marcus would be on his back foot, but Badou comes to fight, so I’m going to be war ready.
“I consider him a boxing friend, but on December 28th ,when that bell rings, he’s the enemy.”
Badou Jack is scheduled to face veteran Jean Pascal on the Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card Dec. 28, his first fight in almost a year.
Consider the last seven opponents that former super middleweight champ Badou Jack has faced: Anthony Dirrell, George Groves, Lucian Bute, James DeGale, Nathan Cleverly, Adonis Stevenson and Marcus Browne.
Who faces a gauntlet like that in this day and age? Precious few.
Indeed, if any fighter deserves an easy opponent, it’s Jack. So who will the 36-year-old Swede fight on the Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card Dec. 28 in Atlanta on Showtime? Jean Pascal, another tough veteran coming off an upset victory over Browne in August.
It never ends.
“I’m getting older,” Jack said on The PBC Podcast. “I might deserve a tune-up fight. When I fight better opposition, I step up my game more, I fight better. My first loss … I fought a journeyman (Derek Edwards). I wasn’t really 100 percent. And that’s when accidents happen. … I fight my best when I fight top guys.”
Jack (22-2-3, 13 KOs) fought a top guy last January, Browne, who won a wide decision at least in part because of a gruesome cut in the middle of Jack’s forehead – the result of an accidental head butt in the seventh round – that bled profusely.
Badou Jack is hard at work preparing for his fight against Jean Pascal on Dec. 28 in Atlanta on Showtime. Sean Michael Ham / Mayweather Promotions
Jack fought hard the remainder of the fight but, having fallen behind in the early rounds, he couldn’t make up the lost ground.
“I should’ve won that fight,” Jack said. “… He’s a front runner. He always looks good in the beginning. He’s fast, athletic. I break you down. Usually I’m better in the later rounds. He won some of the early rounds. I won maybe one round or two before the cut. And then I got the cut. I couldn’t even see for six, seven rounds. He still couldn’t do nothing.
“It’s in the past, a learning experience. I shouldn’t have lost that fight, though. It is what it is.”
Of course, Jack went into the fight with the reputation of being a tough guy – remember that gauntlet – but he enhanced his image with his determination to persevere through one of the worst gashes in recent memory.
“It’s crazy, people giving me … more credit for that fight than any of my good wins,” he said. “And that was my worst fight in my pro career. Just because I showed heart and kept fighting with that cut.
“That’s something you can’t teach. You’re either a fighter, you’re either born with it or not.”
Jack, returning from a bad cut, will have been out of the ring for almost a year when he takes on Pascal. Sean Michael Ham / Mayweather Promotions
Jack certainly remains a fighter, even in his mid-30s. He said he doesn’t feel a sense of urgency in spite of his age. The cut has healed well, he said. In fact, doctors cleared him to fight a few months after the Browne fight.
And he said he feels as if he’s back on track after the setback. He’s confident going into the fight with Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs).
“I don’t feel no pressure,” he said. “… I still feel young. Even though (Jean Pascal) is only a year older than me, he’s been a pro longer than me. I have only 10 year in the pro game and 26, 27 fights, whatever I’ve got. I don’t feel no pressure. But I definitely need to win this fight, of course.”
Jack has begun to think about the legacy he will leave. He held a major 168-pound title from 2015 to 2017 and won what the WBA calls its “regular” 175-pound title in 2017. Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize that belt.
“I want to define my legacy,” Jack said. “I feel good. I feel good in the gym. I felt like s—t in my last fight because of some mistakes that happened in camp and this thing with (Adonis) Stevenson happened right before I started camp. I don’t want to make excuses.
“Right now, I feel great in the gym. As far as running, rounds, letting my hands go … I’m doing great numbers. On fight night we’ll see what happens. I’d love to become a three-division world champion.”
Badou Jack is training for his December fight against Jean Pascal, his first bout since suffering a horrible cut in a loss to Marcus Browne.
Healing is not easy in boxing. But it’s necessary, an inevitable process as challenging as any tough opponent. Ask Badou Jack.
Jack is back, training for light heavyweight Jean Pascal on December 28 in Atlanta in his first bout since suffering the kind of cut that would make a lot of fighters think about a different line of work.
In a decision loss last January to Marcus Browne in Las Vegas, Jack was left with a huge gash across his forehead, the result of a clash of heads in the seventh round. Jack remembers the blood. He remembers the blurred vision. Remembers the aftermath, too.
Initially, it was reported that Jack needed 25 stitches. But the deep gash required a lot more surgery. He said he wound up with 136 stitches to seal a wound as deep as it was ugly
Jack, 36, took the time to reflect. He has his Badou Jack Foundation, which he started in an ongoing fight to get food to refugee kids in Jordan and Syria.
Badou Jack (wearing white shirt) and Gervonta Davis recently discussed their upcoming fights. Sean Michael Ham / Mayweather Promotions
For Jack, there is always another fight to wage. Being away from the ring for nearly a year, he says, turned into a positive.
“I feel like a young 36 years old,’’ Jack said recently in Las Vegas. “I live a clean life. I’m always in the gym training, and I try not to take any punishment. I have a couple of years left, and I’m more motivated now than ever.
“I needed that little break. I hadn’t had a break since I was an amateur 20 years ago. I took time to relax with the family and eat good food.
“Now I’m hungry.”
Hungry enough, he said, to fight anybody at 175 pounds, a division suddenly as intriguing as any. Middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez has a light heavweight belt, which he took from Sergey Kovalev in an 11th-round stoppage on November 2.
There is Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Beterbiev appears to be the best. He took two of the belts with a brutal stoppage of Oleksandr Gvozdyk on October 18 in Philadelphia.
“He’s a beast,’’ Jack said of Beterbiev.
Jack’s willingness to fight anybody is not a surprise. Not a cliché, either. It’s just what he does.
At super middleweight, he beat Anthony Dirrell, George Groves and Lucian Bute. At light heavy, he beat Nathan Cleverly and fought Adonis Stevenson to a draw. It’s been daunting. It’s been dangerous. But it has been – and still is – Jack.
“I’ve been ready to fight for a couple of months,’’ said Jack (22-2-3, 15 knockouts). “Everyone who saw me in my last fight could see I was flat.
“I’m excited for this fight. I actually called Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs) the day before his last fight and let him know I was rooting for him. But this is business at the end of the day. I’m coming to take back my title.”
