By Hans Olson
On Saturday August 11, former WBC Light Heavyweight champion Jean Pascal returns to action, taking on the undefeated IBF Light Heavyweight champion, Tavoris Cloud. It will be nearly 15 months from the last time the Laval native set foot in the squared circle, the longest stretch of inactivity in his pro career. The fight will air live on Showtime Championship Boxing.
Last week, Boxing Insider caught up with Pascal’s longtime trainer, Marc Ramsay for a training camp update:
On Training Camp:
“Our training camp has been in Montreal. We have all of our sport science resources right in the city, so the location is convenient. Sometimes in the past we have traveled out of the country for camps, but not this time. [For sparring], presently we are just working with local guys.”
On how Jean Pascal matches up with Tavoris Cloud:
“Styles do make fights. This fight promises to be explosive. Cloud did win the last fight, but we agree that it was close. The contrast in styles was due to Campillo’s movement and Cloud’s straight forward – aggressive boxing style. With Jean there will be two fighters standing in front of each other looking to reign supreme.”
On Jean’s long layoff since his last fight:
“Jean needed the last year off after a very tight series of tough bouts. He will be a little rusty and Cloud has been more active over the last year (Jean has been inactive in bouts). However, the one thing not to rule out is Jean’s experience and our long standing team.”
On the psychological effects of the two Bernard Hopkins bouts:
“The last two fights were challenging for Jean. When you look at all of Hopkins’ opponents, most come out of their fights with much less confidence —-consider Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor as two examples. Lots of people will be asking questions whether the same phenomenon will have happened to Jean. We would guess that it hasn’t, otherwise this fight would not have been accepted.”
What fans can expect to see come fight night:
“This is going to be a very tough fight for Jean. Tavoris is a tough, durable opponent. However, Tavoris is going to have his sense of pressure. He is the reigning champion, he is undefeated, and he is traveling for the first time out of his country as a professional. These items will no doubt be on Cloud’s mind and possibly on the mind of his trainer. That being said, Jean knows that Cloud will bring his A game – we wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Boxing Insider’s Hans Olson can be reached at [email protected] Follow @hansolson
