Sergei Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal

March 14, Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec

TV: HBO

By Peter Lim

As intriguing and competitive as this bout might appear, Kovalev will become the first man to stop the sturdy-chinned Pascal in a relatively one-sided bout. Granted, Pascal had the punch to drop Hopkins twice in their first encounter, and the whiskers to absorb the formidable artillery of Froch and Bute, but the cold-blooded and calculating Russian assassin is simply half a notch or two more proficient than the tough Canadian pugilist in most areas of the game – offense, defense, firepower and adaptability. The one intangible here is Kovalev’s chin, which has never seriously been tested.

It might take Kovalev a few rounds to figure out the chinks in Pascal’s armor, but once he does, he will blast away with his signature Soviet shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later mode of combat. Mixing his attack upstairs and down, he will viciously zero in on the body when Pascal gets too protective of his head, break him down, bust him up and finish him off somewhere between the middle to late rounds.

Afterthoughts

The stoppage was way premature considering how Pascal came back from his near-death experience in the third round and was rocking Kovalev with counters while seemingly out on his feet.