Jean Pascal vs. Bernard Hopkins II

Dynasty II
DateMay 21, 2011
VenueBell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Title(s) on the lineWBC, IBO, and The Ring light heavyweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Jean Pascal Bernard Hopkins
Nickname "The Executioner"
Hometown Laval, Quebec, Canada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Pre-fight record 26–1 (1) (16 KO) 51–5–2 (1) (32 KO)
Age 28 years, 6 months 46 years, 4 months
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 174+3⁄4 lb (79 kg) 174+3⁄4 lb (79 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBC, IBO and The Ring
Light Heavyweight Champion		 The Ring
No. 1 Ranked Light Heavyweight
2-division world champion
Result
Hopkins defeated Pascal via unanimous decision.

Jean Pascal vs. Bernard Hopkins II, billed as Dynasty II, was a professional boxing match contested on May 21, 2011, for the WBC, IBO, and The Ring light heavyweight championship.[1]

Background

Three weeks after they fought to a highly disputed draw, the WBC ordered a rematch between Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins, with the winner obligated to face Chad Dawson afterwards.[2] When Pascal defeated Dawson by 11th-round technical decision in August 2010, Dawson had a rematch clause in his contract in the event of a loss which allowed both fighters to take interim bouts before the rematch was due. Dawson choose not take one but Pascal did, and fought Hopkins.

Despite claiming he didn't want a rematch in Canada,[3] the bout was held at Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec and was televised on HBO.[4]

Referee and Judges

The referee for the fight was Brit Ian John-Lewis, and the judges were Philippines' Rey Danseco, Anek Hongtongkam of Thailand, and Italy's Guido Cavalleri.[5]

The fight

Pascal (left) vs. Hopkins, 2011

The bout began with both fighters feeling each other out for the first few rounds. In the third round, Hopkins began to find success with the right hand and shook the knees of Pascal. In the fourth round, both fighters exchanged power shots frantically with Hopkins looking slightly wobbled at the end of the round. Later on, before the seventh round began, Hopkins began doing push-ups in the ring. In the ninth round, Pascal's glove touched the mat after a cupping shot and was ruled a slip. This occurred again in the tenth. The fight again went the distance, with all thre judges scoring the bout in favour of Hopkins, with scores of 116–112, 115–114 and 115–113. HBO's Harold Lederman had the bout scored 115–113 for Hopkins, while ESPN's Dan Rafael scored the bout a 114–114 draw.

This made Hopkins the oldest boxer in history to win a world title.[6][7]

Aftermath

Bernard Hopkins won WBC light heavyweight title.

Following Chad Dawson undercard victory he faced Hopkins in October.[8]

After more than a year out of the ring, Pascal was slated to challenge Tavoris Cloud for the IBF light-heavyweight title on 11 August 2012, but a hand injury forced him to pull out of the fight. Pascal finally returned to the ring on 14 December 2012 against Aleksy Kuziemski.[9]

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:[10]

Televised

Preliminary card

  • Light Heavyweight bout: Canada Nicholson Poulard vs. Mexico Jaudiel Zepeda
    • Poulard defeated Zepeda via unanimous decision (100-90, 100-90, 100-90).
  • Welterweight bout: Canada Kevin Bizier vs. Mexico Mauro Lucero
    • Bizier defeated Lucero via knockout at 3:00 in the fifth round.
  • Cruiserweight bout: Colombia Eleider Alvarez vs. Canada David Whittom
    • Alvarez defeated Whittom via unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36).
  • Heavyweight bout: Colombia Oscar Rivas vs. Hungary Zsolt Zathureczky
    • Rivas defeated Zathureczky via technical knockout at 2:05 in the first round.
  • Heavyweight bout: Canada Didier Bence vs. CanadaDwayne Storey
    • Bence defeated Storey via technical knockout at 1:38 in the second round.
  • Light Middleweight bout: Canada Mikaël Zewski vs. United States Ruben Galvan
    • Zewski defeated Galvan via knockout at 1:44 in the third round.

International broadcasting

Country Broadcaster
 Australia Main Event
 Canada Viewers Choice
Canal Indigo
 Hungary Sport 2
 Qatar Al Jazeera Sports +8
 Romania Sport.ro
 United States HBO

References

  1. ^ "Jean Pascal vs. Bernard Hopkins (2nd meeting)". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  2. ^ Dan, Rafael (2011-01-07). "Bernard Hopkins may get rematch". ESPN. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  3. ^ Rafael, Dan (2010-12-19). "Bernard Hopkins rallies to draw". ESPN. https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5935116= 2010-12-19.
  4. ^ Morin, Vincent (2011-02-09). "Boxing: Jean Pascal, Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson To Be Featured May 21". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
  5. ^ "Pascal Hopkins Rematch: Judges And Referee elected". Boxing Scene. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  6. ^ "Bernard Hopkins beats Jean Pascal to become boxing's oldest champion". TheGuardian.com. May 22, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  7. ^ "Bernard Hopkins becomes oldest champ". ESPN. May 22, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
  8. ^ Dan, Ambrose (2011-05-16). "Hopkins to fight Dawson-Diaconu winner if he beats Pascal on Saturday". BoxingNews24. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  9. ^ "Pascal set to return against Kuziemski on Dec. 14 - The Ring". The Ring. 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  10. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Jean Pascal's bouts
21 May 2011 		Succeeded by
Bernard Hopkins's bouts
21 May 2011 		Succeeded by