Profiles of the two light heavyweights, Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins
Jean Pascal celebrates with his daughter Angel after his last victory.
Jean-Thenistor Pascal (26-1-0, with 18 KOs) was born October 28, 1982 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which makes him 28 years old. His family moved to Quebec, Canada in the late ‘80s and he now resides in Laval, Quebec. In school he played both ice hockey and soccer, and after watching his older brother Nicholson Poulard become the Quebec boxing champion in 1996, Pascal, at the age of 13, began visiting Club Champions St-Michel, a boxing gym. Within two years he had become the Canadian amateur champion, a fete he accomplished six more times (1998-2004). In 2001 he joined the national boxing team and was named the best Canadian boxer three times (2001-2003). His amateur record is 103-18.
Notable losses: As an amateur he lost to Craig McEwan of Scotland and Alfredo Angulo of Mexico and as a professional he lost to Carl Froch of the UK on December 6, 2008. They were fighting for the super middleweight title which was vacated by Joe Calzaghe when he moved up in weight to challenge Bernard Hopkins at Light Heavyweight.
Prior to Pascal’s last bout (against Chad Dawson), Dawson was ranked #1 by The ring Magazine, while Pascal was ranked #2. By winning this fight, Pascal made his third defense of his WBC title and captured Dawson’s IBO title.
In the 11th round, an accidental head butt caused a gash over Dawson’s left eye. After the ringside doctor took a look at the cut, he decided to stop the fight. As a result, the fight went to the scorecards. Up to that point Dawson had landed 134 punches and Pascal 114. Pascal held an advantage with his power punches, 90 to 77. If you think it matters, the bout was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Pascal’s measurements: he stands 5’11” tall, his fighting weight fluctuates between 174 and 175 pounds and he has a reach of 72 inches.
Just like Rasheed Wallace of the NBA and Marvin Harrison of the NFL, Bernard “the Executioner” Hopkins is another outstanding athlete who managed to overcome the handicap of being brought up on the mean streets of North Philly. Photo provided by Showtime’s Showbox
Bernard Hopkins Jr. (51-5-1, with 32 KOs), stands six foot tall and has a reach of 75 inches. Over the past four years “The Executioner’s” fighting weight has fluctuated from 170 to 175 pounds.
Since Hopkins was born on January 15, 1965, that makes him exactly one month shy of his 46th birthday. Growing up in the “City of Brotherly Love” he first lived in the infamous Raymond Rosen Housing projects which for locals was considered the worst neighborhood in all of Philadelphia. If you don’t believe me, just as the police chief. He turned to crime early in life and by the age of thirteen was mugging people and had been stabbed three times. At seventeen he was sentenced to 18 years in Graterford Prison for nine felonies. While in prison he witnessed rapes and the murder of another inmate in an argument over a pack of cigarettes. After serving only 56 months, “the Black Rocky” was released from prison and decided to use boxing as an escape from his previous life. Hopkins has come a long way. He now resides in an impressive 17,000 square foot home in Hockessin, Delaware. Unlike North Philly, Hockessin, at the northern tip of Delaware, is a bedroom community. According to the latest census the median income for families is over $120,000 a year and the percentage of African-Americans living there is less than 0.08%.
His most noteworthy accomplishments: Hopkins has already been inducted into Boxing’s International Hall of Fame, he’s the longest-ever reigning World Middleweight Champion, he’s had the most title defenses as a World Middleweight Champ (20), and he’s the oldest fighter in history to hold the World Middleweight Title.
His losses: In his 1988 debut, Hopkins lost a mixed decision to Clinton Mitchell 38-38, 38-39 and 37-39. He was paid $350 for his participation in that fight. Then over his next 56 fights (22 years), he lost just four times, a 12 round unanimous decision to Roy Jones, Jr. in May of 1993, then twice in 2005 to Jermain Taylor, and on April 19, 2008 to Joe Calzaghe. Since that last loss to Calzaghe, he has won three straight – a rematch with Roy Jones, Jr. in April, and two unanimous decision victories, one over Kelly Pavlik, the other over Enrique Ornelas.
