Jean Pascal never seems to be short of surprises. After delivering an unbecoming performance against Michael Eifert in March 2023, the veteran who will turn 42 in October dug deep to score a resounding 10th- round knockout of Terry Osias, a resounding victory that could open the doors to a third world championship, in a second weight division to boot.
It’s a combination of circumstances that would allow Pascal (37-7-1, 21 KOs), a two-time light heavyweight champion, to fight for the World Boxing Council light heavyweight title. And he’ll have another Canadian boxer, Ryan Rozicki, to thank if he ever gets the chance.
That’s because Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs) is himself the number 1 contender for the WBC belt, held by Armenian Noraire Mikaeljan (27-2, 12 KOs). The champion was supposed to face his mandatory challenger in June, but the fight was postponed to September 28. Mikaeljan suffered another injury in training, so that fight has been postponed again.
Tired of waiting for the champion, the Rozicki clan asked the WBC to allow his next fight to be for the interim title of the division, which the sanctioning body granted. The Rozicki clan even has a date: November 2. If Pascal is sufficiently recovered from his 10 rounds of work against Osias (13-1, 6 KOs), he could thus fight for a world championship in less than six weeks!
“I want to congratulate Jean first. I left my training camp in Toronto to go home to Nova Scotia when I heard that Jean Pascal was fighting. So I decided to stop on the way to see this fight,” said Rozicki, who can be forgiven for embellishing this story a little to explain his presence — announced by promoter Yan Pellerin of New Era earlier this week — at the Colisée de Laval on Saturday.
What he did not embellish, however, was his situation.
“I’ve been in training camp for nine months and now I don’t have a fight,” he said. “I’m not here to disrespect him or make enemies, but to challenge the boxer who has been the face of Canadian boxing for many years. I hope I can make that fight as soon as possible. When he’s ready, I’ll be ready.”
“My next fight will be for a world title, in Montreal, between two Canadian boxers,” said Pascal, suddenly back in the ranks of world aspirants.
The November 2 date seems rushed: Pascal has just delivered 10 grueling boxing rounds at almost 42 years old. We can assume that he will want to take a few days or weeks of rest before returning to training camp. But the Rozicki clan is willing to wait for him. He also assures that he has the blessing of the president of the WBC, Mauricio Suleiman, to postpone this fight by a few weeks.
But regardless of the date, Pascal will be a full 42 years old by then and Rozicki is 13 years his junior. In addition to the number one ranking in the WBC, the Sydney boxer is ranked seventh in the World Boxing Association (WBA). Rozicki’s only defeat came in his first world championship fight, a unanimous decision loss to Oscar Rivas for the WBC super-light heavyweight title in October 2021.
Rozicki has won seven straight since then, six of them by knockout.
Pascal, who is expected to enter the top 15 at the World Boxing Organization (WBO) following the conquest of his North American Boxing Organization (NABO) title, which is intended to be the antechamber to the WBO, against Osias, seems to benefit only from the advantage of experience over Rozicki. However, he proved on Saturday that this can weigh very heavily in the outcome of a fight.
Another point that could also work in Pascal’s favor: Rozicki’s next fight could be his first since December 2023, a first-round knockout against an opponent, Olanrewaju Durodola, who is not quite part of the world’s elite.
One thing is certain: Jean Pascal has not finished surprising us. Does he still have a rabbit in his hat?
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