“I said to myself: maybe age is catching up with me, maybe this is the end of my brave journey. Because all good things come to an end at some point. »
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Yes, Jean Pascal thought about “giving up”. Because the last few months have been trying. Mentally. Physically.
He overcame depression after testing positive for EPO and three other steroids a year ago derailed his career.
Then, the Quebec pugilist went through an arduous training camp with Orlando Cuellar, his new coach “who [le fait] really work”.
Jean Pascal (35-6-1, 20 KOs) is preparing for his Friday fight at light heavyweight against China’s Meng Fanlong (17-0, 10 KOs). His first in three years.
“I reminded myself that I’m not a guy who gives up,” says Pascal during a virtual interview with The Press.
The boxer is comfortably seated on the sofa of his condo in Miami Beach. He’ll show us the view from his window, which overlooks the marina, as he flips his phone to the front-facing camera.
A temporary residence a little more luxurious than the place of the brawl of May 20, in Plant City, in the suburbs of Tampa.
“I continued, adds Jean Pascal, about his camp. No bread, no gain. When it hurts, that’s where it counts. This is where you have to work even harder. That gave today’s results. I’ll be ready for my fight next Friday. »
If he says he is “satisfied with the progress” he has made with Cuellar, he admits to being “tired” on this Thursday afternoon, eight days before the fight. It’s coming out of a sparring of 10 rounds earlier in the day, “probably” his last of the camp.
“There’s weight loss and everything,” he says. But I’m used to it, I’m a veteran, I know the game. So I don’t care. »
Is this fatigue really due to the intense training camp… or to his 39 years?
“It may be a mix of the two, agrees the Laval resident. But I think it’s mostly the way [Cuellar] leads. I had never trained like this before.
“Yes, I am 39 years old. But I am a young 39 years old. Plus, I’m black, so I’m 29! »
Jean Pascal makes jokes about it today, but the questioning has been very real in recent weeks.
I thought I had lost a bit of speed, but that was because I had been out of the ring for a long time. […] I found my timing was off, my coordination was off and my speed was off. At one point I was even a little scared [que ce soit la fin].
John Pascal
“But I didn’t give up. I gave myself time. And honestly, the timing has come back lately. The speed too, the striking force. Looks like everything is falling into place at the right time. »
His left foot also bothered him two weeks ago, but he believes he will be “100%” back on fight day.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Jean Pascal after his victory against Badou Jack. On January 8, 2020, he took stock of 2019.
A first test for Meng
The confrontation will be broadcast on the new ProBox TV platform, an application dedicated to the broadcasting of professional boxing events. “My fight will not be on Super Screen! “says Pascal with a smile.
The 12-round bout will be Meng Fanlong’s first to be seen by audiences in China, a market of 1.5 billion people that is usually difficult for broadcasters to access.
At stake on May 20: the first position at 175 lbs.
Jean Pascal is aware that he is “once again the underdog” in front of the number one contender of the IBF, whose category title belongs to Artur Beterbiev. But he believes that the pressure is found in his opponent, precisely.
“He’s the promoter’s boxer. There are going to be 1.5 billion people watching it. He wants to show people that he is part of the world elite. Me, I proved on several occasions that I belong to it. »
Jean Pascal was twice world champion. On the other hand, it will be a first real test for Meng Fanlong, at 34 years old.
“He’s heading into the unknown,” says Pascal. Me, been there, done that many times. It’s going to be up to me to lead him to something he’s never seen, and to let him sink into that darkness. I have to use my experience, my skills to win this duel. »
“Route error”
Jean Pascal had a poised, calm tone throughout the interview. But he fidgets when it comes to his doping history, and its impact on his legacy. He broaches the subject even before we talk to him about it.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Jean Pascal wins by K.-O. against Steve Bossé on July 20, 2018.
Dirty tongues can’t question anything I’ve done before. Do you know why ? Because I was not a boxer who won, won, won and, boom, tested positive. I’ve done lots of tests all my life. Win or lose, I’ve always been negative.
John Pascal
He says he wants to put this “unfortunate incident behind [lui] “.
“It’s difficult to explain the inexplicable, he adds, but it was a mistake. »
The Quebecer has already been tested a few times during training camp. It was a clause in his contract signed in February, as well as a promise he made during our last interview, last March.
His promoter received the results of one of those tests, he says, and it came back negative. He will probably be given another test by next Friday.
“Still gas in the tank”
Jean Pascal recently traversed a road strewn with pitfalls. His best years are probably behind him.
Does he plan to hang up his gloves if things don’t go the way he wants on Friday?
“Honestly, I don’t ask myself that question. Me, I have Meng Fanlong in front of me. It is on him that I must concentrate. Because if I don’t beat him, it’s going to be even harder to find fights afterwards. »
But as a good boxer, he quickly moves on to his remaining qualities.
“I still have gas in the tank. I still have skills. My speed and my timing came back. I want to prove to the world that it is not for nothing that I have been world champion twice. »
“Like Rocky said: It’s not over until it’s over. »