Jean-Thenistor Pascal vs. Michael Eifert

I'm proud to be an American...where at least I know it's free...

 

Yeah, for all the "young lion" and "we're doing this for the glory" talk from Cuellar and Pascal, if you read between the lines it's all quite plain to see. This is a gimme opponent with a high ranking. Basically the only reason they're doing this is to solidify Pascal getting a date with Beterbiev. The fight is otherwise inherently worthless and Pascal likely won't get a lick of credit from the boxing community at large for even a sensational kayo victory.

 

Undercard presser in an hour, in case anyone is keen to hear from Germain or Wilcox or...some randos:

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Sacre bleu! Big Lou spitting le feu about the poo-poo-voo!

 

Steven "The Piranha" Wilcox says he doesn't have much to say. He thanks Lee Baxter and Lou DiBella for making this possible. He says he knew about the fight 2.5 months ago, has been training hard even before he found out it was for the IBF super lightweight intercontinental belt and that has boosted him even more. He's going to do everything in his power to win.

 

Mathieu "G Time" Germain speaks for a minute or two in French. Everybody is about to move on and DiBella says "wait a minute, somebody gonna translate all that??".

The master of ceremonies interprets as lazily as possible, "he's ready and he feels mean."

LDB says he looks mean and they all laugh.

 

...neither G Time nor The Piranha has a height listed on BoxRec, but goddamn that has to be a half a foot between them, judging by the faceoff. The very top of Germain's skull is about level with Wilcox's Adam's apple.

 

Such a ridiculous angle to sell the fight.

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Pascal says here - for the benefit of non-Francophones that can't read it - that he is looking to avenge his countryman Éric Lucas getting robbed twenty years earlier (almost to a day) versus Eifert's countryman Markus Beyer.

That is as cavernous a stretch as renowned thespian Sasha Grey experienced in her early twenties.

 

Especially bearing in mind it was a whopping FIFTEEN YEARS AGO that he fought what for most would be a career-shortening (or -ending) FOTY candidate with the beast that was prime Carl Froch:

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threa...r-pascal-ibs-standalone-rbr-scorecard.638967/

 

I'd forgotten actually (in my defense it was literally half my lifetime ago) just how much of a robbery Beyer vs. Lucas was considered.

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...among Canadians and international diehards anyway. Lucas was a pretty beloved fighter domestically but not super well known abroad. This was around when Germans getting gifts was kind of a recurring narrative in the sport (specifically, several Sven Ottke matches) but this wasn't the biggest-profile one.

I remember Beyer was fairly well respected when Kessler dismantled him. Not that anyone thought he was great but a solid belt holder, although when you look at his wins, Lucas is up there with his best (along Danny Green x2, Richie Woodhall and Omar Sheika). Most people thought Lucas took at least eight clear rounds here.


Pascal was a fanboy, I guess...and sure can hold a grudge. Deep cut.