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Well I guess as it was with the judges, the press judges, and the announcer judges, we saw the fight differently. Then again that pretty much sums up the sport of boxing in a nutshell. But at least we agree and I think anyone who watches this fight will agree, it was a damn good fight! I hope to watch Pascals next fight tho, just to see what lingering effects, if any, that might have resulted from this fight. Being optimistic, it'll make him a better fighter but it could also make him doubt himself after being so easily schooled by Hopkins. Stay tuned,,,, Cheers,Robin
I have to agree with you there. Very entertaining fight! Pascal improved after the Froch fight which was much more violent and brutal. Pascal has a very big ego but he is smart enough to see where he can improve. He has a very professional promotional outfit and a sport psychologist who works with him. I'm sure they will find a way to turn this into a learning experience and there is no shame in being outboxed my Bernard Hopkins who beat the crap out of Trinidad, KOed De la Hoya, knocked down Calzaghe (and some say beat Calzaghe) and humiliated Tarver and Pavlik. Forget about his age, in Hopkins case it is just a number. In any event, Pascal has done much more than I ever expected he would and I doubt he will have a very long career. He should definitely stay away from Glen Jonhson and maybe Tavoris Cloud isn't such a good idea either. I'm still not sure how Pascal beat Dawson but he did...
I too have seen that fight several times; Ray fought Duran on more or less equal terms and lost because he was goaded into fighting Duran's fight by the classless Duran's behavior (like giving Ray's wife the finger at press conferences). Ray wanted to prove he could brawl with him which he did. If anything he beat himself by fighting the wrong fight. The ease with which Ray not only dominated Duran in the rematch but MADE HIM QUIT shows who was the better fighter. No mas! No mas!
No get Showtime here...maybe I catch the rerun on Universal HD sometime next year.
I thought that the 2 knock downs were legit. The first one caught Bernard just behind the ear (btw the american judge scored the first round 10-8 Pascal). A lot of the shots behind the head were just because of the styles: Pascal's looping punches and Bernard ducking. On the second knock down, Bernard when straight down and I think Pascal should have jumped on him after the count instead of letting him clear the cobwebs. That was an intentional head butt when Pascal went down. Bernard's fouls tend to be of the subtle variety. Still, for Bernard, it was a pretty clean fight.Pascal was rescued by his two knock downs of Bernard. He also landed the harder punches. Really, I can't see a majority draw as a robbery.I would tend to agree that Pascal won't want the rematch. But Pascal has earned my grudging respect and has improved fight after fight and has taken on challenge after challenge. In a rematch he would be smart enough to change styles. Mind you Bernard is a boxing genius so it is hard to pick against him. And really, Pascal's style is not a good one to beat Hopkins. (But then who's is? Even Calzaghe only beat Hopkins by controversial split decision.) If I am Pascal's promoter I'm looking for a fight with Tavoris Cloud...Here are the 2 knockdownsKnock down oneKnock down twoWho is the last guy who knocked Hopkins down twice? I guess Pascal deserves a little credit...
Most good fighters simply bounce back but some with the huge egos don't. Roy Jones Jr. is a perfect example of what I'm talking about, giant egos that got crushed. Cheers,Robin
If Pascal has any guts, he will give Hopkins a rematch in his next fight. I'd love to see it!
Roy Jones is destined to go down in history as a great fighter who was never in a great fight. Collins, Benn, Michalzewski, Calzaghe, a Hopkins rematch... he ducked 'em all. He preferred to put on glorified sparring sessions against no-hopers and cash his check. Only times he really brought it were against Montell Williams (in the rematch, after being DQ'd) and the first Tarver fight. I don't count Toney b/c he didn't come to fight, or Ruiz, one of the worst heavyweight champs in history. An interesting historical footnote but not a great fight.
But I can practically guarantee you won't see Pascal fight Bernard again, even in 5 more years. Bermard made him a scared fighter who's reactions after the fight was over (but before the scorecards were read) is what I'll personally remember,,, and anyone who hasn't seen this fight, look for that once the 12th round bell is rung. It tells the whole story. Cheers,Robin
Well I couldn't help myself I had to find this quote with the rematch coming up. Pascal does well in rematches but you won't catch me betting against Bernard. I got a chuckle out of Pascal at the new conference out doing Bernard at the psy ops... Video
I don't know if you remember some of Bernard's little tricks? Like when he grabbed a Puerto Rican flag and stomped on it? Bernard likes doing stuff like that so I thought it funny that Pascal was taking it too him. That was only half of what he did at the press conference. Pascal deserves some credit for taking the fight as he also owns The Ring's light heavyweight belt and was contractually obligated to fight Chad Dawson. He could have dropped the WBC belt and fought Dawson for good money and nobody would have blamed him. And it's hard to pick against Hopkins but Pascal has continually surprised me and he learns from one fight to the next so I won't pick against him either.The fight is held in Canada for two reasons: 1-Canadian promoters actually promote boxing and can put 15000 butts in seats. 2- The bid to promote the fight was won by Golden Boy in which Bernard is a partner, so they chose Canada not Pascal. Bernard couldn't fill a grade school auditorium in the States and they know it.Favorable decisions to the home town fighter, home cooking as Teddy Atlas puts it, are a fact of life in boxing. Now that the US is not the only boxing center you American fans will have to get used to home cooking working against you for a change. Outright theft decisions are not exactly rare in the US. Especially in favor of the American promoters fighter. Just off of the top of my head look at a fight like DeLaHoya against Felix Sturm, that was an outrageous robbery. I still say that with the 2 knock downs a draw was a good decision in the Pascal Hopkins fight.
My hat is of to Bernard (who is 46)! Mind you Pascal fights like a 46 year old. Both fighters threw around 240 punches for the fight. That is 20 punches a round, not exactly a grueling pace. Bernard picked the perfect foe. Even though they didn't throw much the fight was entertaining.I will be totally shocked if Bernard beats Dawson.