Jean Pascal says he will fight dirty if Bernard Hopkins does
Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal caught up with FanHouse following a New York City press conference to speak about his upcoming December 18 title fight with Bernard Hopkins.
The fight will be broadcast on Showtime and will take place at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada. Pascal, 26, will look to send the 45-year-old Hopkins into retirement, while Hopkins will attempt to write a chapter about the irrelevance of age in
the history books.
Pascal (26-1, 16 KOs) has won his last five bouts and is coming off a stunning upset of Chad Dawson in August. Pascal convincingly dismantled the undefeated Dawson in Montreal and was awarded a technical decision in the round 11 due to a cut sustained by
Dawson.
Immediately after the victory, Hopkins responded to a challenge outlined by Pascal.
In passing, Hopkins implied Pascal was vulnerable as a fighter, because he lunges with his punches and leaves himself open to the counter punch. In response, Pascal disagreed, stating, "I'm a versatile boxer. I can do things in the ring. Please Bernard,
and I'm not asking this just for me, but for the fans, fight like a true champion. Fight like a man with your fists and don't run."
Pascal likewise reflected on the possibility of Hopkins employing 'dirty' ring tactics to gain an advantage in the fight. Hopkins, an undisputed master in the ring, is known to utilize cunning and questionable tactics to confuse opponents. Pascal responded
that when he fights Hopkins, he will not give him too much respect, and will fight fire with fire, meaning that if Hopkins is dirty, he will be dirty right back.
"I'm going to treat him [Hopkins] like he's a piece of meat and I'm the hungry dog...I'm not going to give him too much respect...I know that he's dirty fighter who is known to play games. If he hits me low, he's going to get exactly the same thing. I'm
not going to get intimidated by the legend."
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