Pascal was poor for the most part tonight. Branco is ancient and hasn't done anything meaningful for years and years yet he had his successes tonight. That shouldn't happen against a dominant champ, and thats why I fear for Pascal. He's not a dominant champ, Chad Dawson would light him up with ease and I could see a shock loss in his future quite easily. The only thing in his favour is that there are not too many difficult opponents at 175lbs. That said, I don't think JP was in peak form tonight. He was a lot better against Diaconu, I think he needs to feel truely threatened and motivated to perform well, otherwise he gets into lazy habits. His best performances have been against the best fighters and his worst against lesser fighters.
The comment hardly comes across as racist. What was racist about it? So he used the phrase "French *****"? Hell, even Al Bundy was quick to insult the French. :smoke
Yeah I know, I've heard that one before. I don't buy it. However, I use it myself from time to time anyway.
So in other words, Pascal fights down to the opposition. If you look at the 2 fights that sandwiched the Froch and Diaconu fights there is evidence of this. In Pascal's defense, two bigger matchups were looming on the horizon. The Miranda fight that never materialized and now the Diaconu rematch. I'm not so sure that the problem is related to the threat Pascal must feel to perform as it is simply how to deal with the lazy habits that emerge as a result of being faced with an overmatched opponent. I would say it's a matter of professionalism. A seasoned pro may not want to be bothered with a useless mandatory but when in the ring, he will go about things in a workmanlike way without getting lazy. Pascal has to be able to apply the Froch and Diaconu mindset to fights like this despite the natural tendency to want to coast and get a little fancier than necessary.
It was the first time that I saw Pascal used that much hooks to the body and it slowed down Branco. On the other hands, his left hook to the head is still large, creating an opening for a quicker opponent and sometimes, when he tries to land the hook, he'll go in face down, leaving himself open for an uppercut. Pascal said after the fight that he was really nervous for the first 4 rounds, feeling the pressure but that after, things went back to normal. IMO, he still wins against Diaconu but the winner of Dawson-Johnson takes the belt away from Pascal...
Well, other than the fact that Pascal was born in Haiti and lives in Canada, that comment made perfect sense... Gotta love America's definition of French people
It was what it was. Pascal looked tentative from what I saw, but he occasionally gets lackadaisical when he feels as though he's in command. And, while Branco isn't great, he' still one of those guys who never seems to go away, and generally guys don't look that good even when they beat him. Let's see what Pascal does going forward.
It's not racist because there is no ****ing French race. The same way there's no American, Italian, German, or Japanese race. It was a bull**** statement, but not a racist one.