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.
Claressa Shields’ ability to win titles in three divisions in only 10 fights is historic.
GOOD
One criticism of women’s boxing I hear a lot is that the talent pool isn’t deep. And that problem is particularly prevalent at the higher weights, beginning in the divisions in which Claressa Shields does her thing.
I would respond to that by saying that the depth of talent has improved over the past decade. And I would add that there are a number of excellent fighters at the top.
Those are the opponents Shields has dominated in her short career, including Ivana Habazin on Friday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Shields (10-0, 2 KOs) overwhelemed Habazin (20-4, 7 KOs) to win a near-shutout decision and two vacant junior middleweight titles. That gives her major belts in three divisions in only 10 fights, which is a record regardless of gender. Vasiliy Lomachenko and Kosei Tanaka turned the trick in 12 fights.
The achievement is remarkable. The two-time Olympic champion pursued the best possible opponents from day one and has been nothing short of spectacular.
The question now: Is there anyone who can give Shields a challenge?
The obvious answer would be Cecilia Braekhus, the unbeaten 38-year-old star from Norway who has said she wants to fight Shields. The American would have a natural size advantage – Braekhus is a welterweight – but neither fighter is a big puncher, which means the better boxer probably would win.
Let’s hope it happens. Shields needs a next-level challenge. And women’s boxing needs its superfight.
BAD
Jesse Hart (left) said he fought Joe Smith Jr. with an injured right hand. Mikey Williams / Top Rank
I hate when fighters make excuses – even when they have some legitimacy.
Jesse Hart said after he lost a split decision to Joe Smith Jr. on Saturday night in Atlantic City that he fought with an injured right hand. The orthodox boxer said he suffered the injury in his previous fight, a victory over Sullivan Barrera in June, and aggravated it both during training and early in the fight Saturday.
I’ll take Hart’s word for it. His hand bothered him. And I understand a fighter’s instinct is to explain if he believes an unusual factor played a role in a poor performance.
I also want to give Hart some credit for the manner in which he couched post-fight comments he made to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He said: “I don’t want to make no excuses because Joe fought a great fight. I hurt the hand in my last sparring session and thought I could overcome that. Credit to Joe for doing for what he had to do.”
Hart might not have wanted to make an excuse but he did, which diminishes Smith’s important accomplishment.
Hart chose to fight with a tender hand. It didn’t work out. I wish he had left it at that.
WORSE
Smith (right) dominated Hart but one judge scored the fight for Hart. Mikey Williams / Top Rank
One problem with a bad scorecard is that it can permanently give the wrong impression of a fight. Smith handled Hart easily yet had to settle for a split-decision victory because of a baffling card.
Joseph Pasquale and Eugene Grant scored the fight 98-91 and 97-92, respectively. That reflects what happened in the ring. James Kinney somehow had Hart winning 95-94.
I always ask myself when I see a scorecard that seems out of line: Is there a way it can be justified? For example, maybe several rounds could’ve gone either way. Or maybe a judge rewards one style over another, which can be legitimate sometimes.
In this case, I couldn’t come up with a logical reason to score the fight for Hart. Smith pushed the action from beginning to end. He threw more punches and landed more punches than Hart, including a big edge in power shots, according to both the eye and CompuBox. And Smith put Hart down.
The only edge that Hart had was in jabs and neither fighter threw many of those. The closest the fight should’ve been scored if you give Hart every benefit of the doubt was 96-93 in Smith’s favor. 95-94 – six rounds to four – for Hart is outrageous.
I won’t call for Kinney to be banished from boxing, as Bob Arum, the promoter of both fighters, did.
“That judge should be banned from ever scoring a fight,” Arum said. “He should be investigated and banned. And I promote Hart! I mean, s—, how can you ever score that fight for Jesse Hart? I mean, it’s not even an argument.”
I agree with the investigation part. Kinney has some explaining to do.
Joe Smith and Jesse Hart are set to meet in an important light heavyweight bout for both fighters Saturday in Atlantic City.
Joe Smith, laborer by day and prize fighter when possible, sells himself as the common man. But there’s nothing common about how Jesse Hart sees him. Smith has become a cause, a rallying cry for Hart to avenge a loss suffered by a man who has always been his mentor.
Hart remembers the night when Smith knocked Bernard Hopkins out of the ring more than three years ago in Los Angeles. Smith made Hopkins look like an old man, which of course he was. Hopkins was 51. Yet the memory still haunts Hart, who intends to exorcise it in a light heavyweight fight Saturday night in Atlantic City on ESPN.
Hart says the fight isn’t about money, or a possible shot at a major belt, or any of the other usual motivations. It’s strictly personal, he says. It’s about family, he says. It also about north Philadelphia, Hopkin’s home.
Smith (24-3, 20 KOs) hears Hart (26-2, 21 KOs) and tries to understand. But he is also quick to remind Hart that every fight is personal. Your nose gets broken. Your blood is spilled. That’s about as personal as it gets.
“It’s always personal with me as well,’’ Smith said this week in a conference call. “Personal for me, and I’m also fighting for my family and other things.’’
Smith goes into the fight without any evident trepidation about facing a hyper-motivated Hart. An overly-emotional Hart might walk right into the same power that knocked Hopkins through the ropes and onto the floor in an eighth-round stoppage Dec. 17, 2016 at the Forum.
For Smith, the motivation is business-like. Hart represents an opportunity for him to get beyond a unanimous decision loss to Dmitry Bivol on March 9. He also lost to Sullivan Barrera on July 15, 2017 in his first fight after the Hopkins’ stunner.
“Yeah, I have to get past Jesse Hart on Saturday night,’’ Smith said. “You know, I’m hoping to stay busy this year. I want to fight a few times. I want to make 2020 my year. I’m really looking forward to it.’’
Hart, a former super middleweight fighting at light heavy for only the second time, has other ideas. He hopes that he can make Smith regret it.
“I want to take Joe to that Ali-Frazier III type of knock-down, drag-out fight,’’ Hart said during the conference call. “Where Ali said it was the closest he was to death. I want to see if he quits then. That’s how far I want to push Joe. I want to stay in there, and I want to see where it’s at. I wanna see if he’s going to quit then with me.
“I know what I’m looking to do. I know I’m not looking to quit that night under no circumstances.’’
