Jean Pascal says that the way to pay a teacher respect is to outdo him
Following a prestigious ceremony in which he was presented with the famous green belt by the World Boxing Council, light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal spoke about his upcoming bout with Bernard Hopkins.
Pascal was in downtown Mexico City to receive the belt, which was presented by WBC President Jose Sulaiman. He's set to begin training camp next week for the December 18 clash with Hopkins in Quebec City.
A Haitian-born Montreal-based fighter, Pascal said that he has a massive amount of respect for Hopkins, but that the highest respect he could pay him would be to defeat him as a teacher and prove his superiority as competent student.
“Bernard is like a bottle of vintage wine,” he said. “Look at the way he schooled Kelly Pavlik. He’s a teacher, but I’m a great student of boxing. Bernard seems to get better with age, but my job is to defeat him.”
“Bernard is one of the better fighters in the world, and will be a great challenge for me. This is going to mean a lot for my future […] I give Bernard respect, because he is a great man and an excellent boxer, but I am fighting in my house.”
In August, Pascal stunned the world by giving Chad Dawson the first defeat of his career. Dawson has beaten formidable opposition like Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, and now-heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek.
Pascal also spoke about his only defeat, to British Carl Froch back in 2008. Pascal lost a close decision, but gave Froch a run for his money.
“The fight against Carl brought me a lot of experience. Because of that fight, I’m a more complete boxer. If we fight again, I’m one hundred and ten percent sure that I’ll defeat Carl.”
Both Pascal and Froch have expressed interest in a rematch. Froch says that they have a 'handshake' deal for one. He would like Pascal’s belts, and Pascal would like redemption.
But they will not be crossing paths anytime soon. Froch is tied up in the Super Six boxing tournament, and Pascal has a contractual clause forcing him into a rematch with Chad Dawson following the bout with Hopkins.
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