Who is Jean Pascal?
Is it the big mouth that smacks and berates too many strangers over garbage nets?
Is it this sometimes extravagant man who played with fire all too often in adulthood?
Is it this outstanding black man, proud of his race but able to love anyone with even the slightest human background who gives hope?
Is it this whimsical sportsman who sometimes hides a real shyness very badly?
Is he as sure of himself as he’s trying to pretend? Or does he have a screaming need to be respected and most importantly loved by fans and the media?
And when he’s going through a dark time, who is aware of his panic and fears? Who knows that this seemingly strong and brave man spent almost six months locked in his home after his doping history before his second fight against Badou Jack? Can’t absorb the shock? Wounded to the core by the abandonment of partners and friends, he believed himself to be as strong as steel.
That elusive LOVE
Jean Pascal will play part of his career tonight in Laval against Michael Eifert. He’ll never say, but if he accepted this trap, which paid a lot less than his previous struggles, was to climb to great heights again.
Those highs that are his 10 box rec. The only one in Canada to reach that insane number. Jean Pascal wants to relive the dose of love he received when he beat Chad Dawson, then the best pound for pound in the world, snatched a tie from Bernard Hopkins in Quebec, beat Marcus Browne or taught a lesson to young American prodigy Ahmed Elbiali in a cow field in Miami.
But I think one line in the movie Elvis pretty much applies to Jean Pascal. We see Elvis, exhausted at 40, traveling to new cities night after night to perform his show in arenas that are always packed. Doped, sick, unable to quit. And the voice of Colonel Parker, played by Tom Hanks, says of the images “that what will kill Elvis is this insatiable love for the public”. The deeper meaning, of course, is that Elvis fed on this adoration.
The situation of Jean Pascal is quite different. He’s in good shape, he’s physically perfect and he could quit boxing if he wanted to. But Jean Pascal also thrives on the love of the public. It fills him to know that he has had times when he was loved by large sections of Quebec society.
And he really wants to find that love again before he hangs up his gloves.
He wants to find himself in front of Artur Beterbiev. He wants all of Quebec to wonder how he will survive. And he’s dying to come out with a nice-sounding sentence or two to announce he’s going to wipe Artur’s nose…
Therefore, on a Thursday evening in Laval, Jean Pascal meets a young German who is far too dangerous for the payment involved.
PROMOTION…
Big Matt Boulay, known as l’Agace, made a remarkable comeback to boxing this week. He compared Jean Pascal and Arturo Gatti to try to choose the greatest Quebec boxer of all time.
I will point out to Agace that Arturo Gatti only has three “five star” fights to his name. It doesn’t weigh against Jean Pascal’s ten.
But there’s one thing that Big Matt and I quickly agreed on. Jean Pascal is a promoter’s best friend when it comes to selling a boxing gala. That evening it was Jean Pascal and Jean Pascal alone who did the publicity work. Actual promoter Lou Di Bella and his partner GYM have invested less than thirty cents in marketing what could be a farewell bout for a legendary Quebec boxer.
The one who gave interviews, wrote on social networks and had a great time saying spectacular things is Jean Pascal.
Even there, there are people who will scold him for having too big a mouth.
