All photos by David Spagnolo/Main Events
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – WBA, IBF and WBO World light heavyweight Champion Sergey Kovalev weighed in at 174 pounds on Friday afternoon for his light heavyweight championship match against former titlist Jean Pascal.
Pascal weighed in exactly at the light heavyweight limit of 175 pounds in advance of Saturday’s HBO-televised triple header at the Bell Centre.
In front of packed and sometimes hostile crowd full of pro-Pascal supporters inside the Casino de Montreal, Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KOs) the former WBC champion did not bother sticking around for the customary post weigh in face off. As soon as Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KOs) tipped the scales, Pascal turned around and walked off the stage to the applause of his fans.
During Wednesday’s final press conference things got heated quickly as Pascal and Kovale met face to face for a stare down and Pascal attempted to knock Kovalev’s cap off his head. Kovalev gave Pascal a shove and the two fighters were separated.
“The last time they were face to face there was contact made,” said Roy Jones Jr.–one of Pascal’s many trainers for this fight.
“If they get close again there would be more contact and we don’t’ want that. I want Pascal to bring that bitterness into the ring tomorrow,” said Jones.
Kovalev is fully aware who the crowd will root for tomorrow and if today’s atmosphere was any indication there will be plenty of cat calls thrown in his direction tomorrow.
“Of course I heard them today and it bothered me,” Kovalev said at the hotel sometime after the weigh in. “But it bothered me more because I was hungry. Tomorrow it won’t bother me at all.”
Kovalev,the 2014 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year, is coming off his biggest win to date with the unanimous-decision victory over Bernard Hopkins last November in Atlantic City. Pascal’s last fight was a bizarre no contest against Roberto Bolonti in December.
Kovalev-Pascal tops the HBO tripleheader that includes the IBF heavyweight eliminator between Vyacheslav Glazkov and Steve Cunningham.
Glazkov weighed in at 218.4 pounds. Cunningham weighed in at 209.6 pounds.
Rounding out the televised card will be light heavyweights Isaac Chilemba and Vasily Lepikhin. Chilemba weighed in at a half pound over the 175 pound weight limit. Chilemba was given two hours to lose the half pound and was able to do it in less time than that returning to the scales and weighing in at an even 175 pounds.
Lepikhin weighed in at 174.2 pounds.
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Below are the weights for the remainder of the 8 fight card:
Dierry Jean 137.7, Carlos Manuel Reyes 136.8
David Theroux 144.4, Lukasz Janik 144.6 (swing bout)
Nadjib Mohamedi 173, Lee Junior Campbell 174.2
Yves Ulysse Junior 143.3, Miguel Antoine 143.9
Dmitry Mikhaylenko 146.8, Felipe De La Paz 145.3
