Pascal Upsets Dawson, Retains Title in Montreal

By Mike Coppinger at Ringside: Canadian promoter Yvon Michel said that when boxers don’t ply their craft stateside, they tend to be overlooked by the American public. And boy was he right.

Jean Pascal, 26-1-(16), became the lineal champion at 175 on Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal with An 11th round unanimous technical decision over previously undefeated "Bad" Chad Dawson, 29-1-(17).

The fight was stopped when the ringside doctor concluded Dawson was not fit to fight, with a big gash over his left eye.

The scores were 108-101 by John Woodburn and 106-103 by both John Keane and Gerald Ritter. SecondsOut.com had it 115-114 for Pascal.

It was a fantastic action fight and the leader in the clubhouse for "Fight of the Year". Pascal took a usually long time coming to the ring, perhaps to make Dawson sweat it out.The pro-Pascal crowd sarcastically chanted, "Dawson", "Dawson". The night wouldn’t end well for Dawson either.

The fight was contested in an unusually large 24 X 24 size ring. Pascal’s biggest win previous to this fight was against fellow Canadian Adrian Diaconu in December of 2009, a bout in which he suffered the shoulder injury which postponed this fight several times.

Pascal of Laval, Quebec took the fight to Dawson, New Haven, Ct, putting rounds in the bank early while Dawson was content to jab and counter from the outside. Pascal flurried and scored often with power shots to the body.

Pascal, 27, started off trying to get inside Dawson’s guard. Pascal threw a haymaker that made Dawson clinch. Dawson was not used to this kind of energy, having fought older and slower fighters in his last few outings. Pascal scored with explosive combinations. Dawson looked to establish his jab but Pascal connected with a big body shot that gained Dawson’s attention and ended the opening round well on top.

The champion landed at will in round two, rushing Dawson with powerful combos. Dawson tried many times to pin Pascal against the ropes but Pascal landed the cleaner more effective punches to the body throughout.

Round seven proved to be the turning point in the fight as Dawson began to tire and Pascal rocked and badly hurt the American challenger. Pascal poured it on, sensing the moment, but couldn’t put Dawson down. Dawson recovered and came back at Pascal, battering the Canadian.

Dawson was badly hurt again in round eighth as Pascal rained in a perfectly timed counter right hand. Dawson held on for dear life and managed to see out the round.To his credit and sheer bravery, Dawson came storming back in the ninth to wobble the legs of Pascal as the action ebbed and flowed.

In the 11th, Dawson had Pascal badly hurt and reeling when the accidental clash of heads opened the cut on Dawson’s left eye. The referee soon waved the doctor over to check the cut and waved the fight off immediately .

Pascal is undefeated at 175, his only loss coming at 168, to Carl Froch in 2008. A fight that could be revisited once Froch is done with the Super Six tournament.

"I remember Gary Shaw at the first press conference was telling people that there is no blueprint to beat Chad Dawson, and I told him, that I was the blueprint," said Pascal. "The plan was to box with him, to rough him and in the later rounds go for the knockout.

“One thing I know, you need to win like a champion and lose like a champion. When I lost to Carl Froch, he beat me in England and I didn’t find any excuses. He beat me and I came back stronger. I beat Chad Dawson and he needs to come back stronger. You win like a champion and lose like a champion," added Pascal.

Dawson is no longer undefeated and will have to go back to the drawing board. "I started it out slow, he started a little better," said Dawson, 28. "He did a good job stealing rounds. He fought a great fight."

“He’s the best technical fighter I’ve fought so far. He’s a good fighter, but I’ll be back for the titles."

Undercard Results:
In the final undercard bout of the evening, Tony "The Lightning" Luis of Montreal, 10-0-(3), defeated Adrian Verdugo, 12-1-1-(9), of Mexico by unanimous decision in a lightweight matchup.

The two refused to trade, punching only in spurts. The crowd booed loudly throughout the contest, showing their disdain for the lack of action. -

Welterweight prospect Dierry Jean (18-0, 12 KOs) of Montreal defeated Antonio Soriano (15-12-2, 10 KOs) via seventh round TKO when Soriano didn’t come out his corner for the start of the round seven. Jean showed great head movement and footwork. Jean suffered a cut over his left eye in the fourth round, but wasn’t fazed. Jean really stepped up his attack in the sixth stanza, pouring it on Soriano with quick, crisp combinations. Jean would stick and move, letting off a three-punch combo before escaping out of harm’s way.Soriano had had enough and retired on his stool prior to the opening bell of the seventh round.

Lightweight prospect Kevin Lavallée (2-0, 2 KOs) of Quebec won his second pro bout with an impressive first round knockout of Genaro Garcia (9-8-0, 6 KOs), who hails from Mexico. Lavallée came off his stool looking for a quick night, launching power shots through Garcia’s guard. Lavallée showed a great array of speed and power in the short fight, dropped Garcia with a one-two early in the round. He immediately followed that up by nailing Garcia’s mid-section and head to close the show. The fight was stopped at 1:28 of the second round.

In the second bout of the evening, Rubin Rivera (3-4, 1 KO) upset local heavyweight prospect Wayne John (4-1, 2 KOs) via six round split decision. Wayne John was dropped in the first round by Rubin Rivera. He beat the count with ease and the round was over before they could trade more leather.Rivera controlled most of the fight. The fighters were both out of shape and labored at various times throughout the bout. But when they found the energy, it wasn’t hard for the two to find each other. The fight could of been contested in a phone booth, with much in-fighting occurring throughout. John preferred to fight off the ropes, often finding a home for his counter right.

At the end of six rounds the scores were 57-56 twice for Rivera and 59-55 in favor of John.-

In a four round lightweight bout to open up the card, local prospect Arash Usmanee (6-0, 2 KOs) stopped Mexican journeyman Hugo "El Poeta" Pacheco (11-15-1, 9 KOs) in the second round. Usmanee dropped Pacheco in the first round with a short left hook. Pacheco beat the count on wobbly legs and survived the round. In the second, Usmanee dropped Pachecho again and this time Pacheco was completely out of it. But referee Marlon B. Wright allowed the fight to go on. Usmanee sensed the moment and jumped on Pachecho, who threw punches back but to avail.

*****

Copp Log:
Chad Dawson’s kids watched the action from front row. Not sure how I feel about that. Suppose their father is seriously injured in the fight? Reminds me of the Antonio Margarito-Miguel Cotto fight.

Gary Shaw told SecondsOut that Alfredo Angulo turned down a fight with middleweight champion Sergio Martinez for $750,000, even though his previous career high was a little over $300,000. Shaw claims it was because Anuglo wanted around $900,000, but this writer thinkS it has more to do with the probable beating "Perro" would receive at the hands of Martinez.

Tim Bradley promoter Shaw also said that there is no chance the proposed Jan. 29 match between junior welterweights Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander will take place in St. Louis. He referenced last week’s controversial decision, in which St. Louis native Alexander was awarded a unanimous decision against Andriy Kotelnik.

Ring Magazine editor Nigel Collins was ringside, here to present the Ring championship belt to the winner of tonight’s fight.

GYM promoter Yvon Michel said that he hoped to have middleweight prospect David Lemieux competing in high-level, HBO fights by the fall of 2011. He plans to keep the wildly popular Montreal attraction busy and match him against many different types of fighters.

August 14, 2010