MONTREAL – The weights are in for tomorrow’s light-heavyweight title matchup between Sergey Kovalev and Jean Pascal. And while there wasn’t any scuffling this time around, both guys were in such good shape that it’s hard to imagine this fight not being a good scrap.
KOVALEV: 174.2
PASCAL: 175
PREDICTION: The narrative going into this fight is that Pascal will fade late (like he did in the first Hopkisn bout) and open the door for the hard-punching Kursher to score a late stoppage. But Pascal pointed out in my interview today with him that he’s only really faded against Hopkins.
That’s partly true. Pascal had some late shaky moments against Dawson before the cut stoppage. Plus, it’s hard to imagine Pascal being in optimal “ring-shape” for this one considering he’s only fought less than two full rounds in the last year. Pascal already likes to fight in spots, and Kovalev’s pressure isn’t going to allow him to rest. A stoppage is a distinct possibility, but Pascal showed me enough toughness against Carl Froch to make me believe he’ll go the distance and make it ugly when he needs to. KOVALEV UD12
CUNNINGHAM: 209.6
GLAZKOV: 218.4
PREDICTION: 50/50 fight here. Glazkov is the natural heavyweight and Cunnignham’s tendency to hit the canvas every fight makes Glazkov the “safe” bet. But considering how Glazkov struggled with another small but slick heavyweight in Malik Scott lends me to believe Cunningham can pull it off. Glazkov is more of a finesse fighter than the bruising heavys that have given Cunningham hell in recent bouts. CUNNINGHAM MD12
CHILEMBA: 175
LEPIKHIN: 174.9
PREDICTION: Solid opener here. Lepikhin has the height advantage (6’3 to 6’1) but is somewhat robotic in his offense. I’m picking Chilemba here largely on experience at the elite level. Plus, I feel his workrate will be a bit better. CHILEMBA UD12
UNTELEVISED FIGHTS
Dierry Jean vs. Juan Manuel Reyes
Nadjib Mohammedi vs. Lee Junior Campbell
Yves Ulysse Junior vs. Miguel Antoine
Dmitry Mikhaylenko vs. Felipe De La Paz
David Theroux vs. Lukasz Janik
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 