According to his twitter account, he's at 186,3. The weigh in is tomorrow at 11h for Bute, 13h for Pascal. Pascal is saying he only has 1,3 pounds to lose but that will let him with 10 extra pounds to lose next week.
Another fight canceled on the card: the HW Éric Barrak is cut and won't fight Oscar Rivas. Alvarez will fight Gardiner but not on HBO. Not a good card at all for the price we paid.
Pascal is sloppy enough that if Bute catches him with a powerful body counter, he won't get up! Ideal situation! I don't think Bute would give him a rematch if that was the case! But Pascal would give Bute a rematch anyday!
There are the officials for next week: Referee:Michael Griffin Judges: Pasquale Procopio, Jack Woodburn and Claude Paquette
Well, there are more GYM events, that's all. Griffin is becoming appreciated around the world. I guess both sides trust him.
:think Procopio has judged eight bouts of Bute's and eleven of Pascal's, and his cards all seem in line with his peers' and not indicative of any bias either way. If anything he is a tad stingy with credit for Pascal, in particular on nights when his injuries have flared up to affect his performances. Procopio found the same couple of rounds for Kuziemski as myself, and was extremely generous to Ikeke seeing him just a round shy of a draw. Woodburn has judged nine of Bute's and nine of Pascal's. His cards also seem fair, sometimes having it a bit wider in favor both men than his fellow judges but sometimes having it narrower, pretty much down the middle. He did have Pascal vs. Dawson a couple of points wider than is widely agreed upon (106-103, as was my card and that of many fans and the other two judges on the night) but if that is the worst bit of dirt that can be dug up on him there is still no cause for worry. Paquette has judged five bouts of Bute's and ten of Pascal's. He did have Bute further up over Grachev than might be reasonable or than did the other arbiters including none other than Jack Woodburn - but he also had a similar margin of discrepancy in seeing Pascal further up over Boone than either of the other judges. Just think of him and Woodburn being a wash if there is any concern of them having a bit of a soft spot for each man. Overall good choices, and these guys are like Pascal & Bute experts.
Pascal gets this with a close decision. The only result that would surprise me here is if Bute legit stops Pascal (random injury aside). Wouldn't be shocked to see Bute react poorly to Pascal's punches after the first quarter of the fight.
Bute kayoing Pascal would be a complete shock...unless it goes very deep with a high pace throughout and Pascal gasses. Which, let's admit, is within the realm of possibility.