Jean Pascal vs. Lucian Bute
 | ||
| Date | January 18, 2014 | |
| Location | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Title(s) on the line | NABF and vacant WBC Diamond Light Heavyweight titles | |
|
| ||
 Jean Pascal vs.  Lucian Bute | ||
| Le Tombeur Mister KO | ||
| Tale of the tape | ||
|---|---|---|
| Port-au-Prince, Ouest, Haïti | From | Pechea, Galați County, Romania |
| 28-2-1 (17 KO) | Pre-fight record | 31-1 (24 KO) |
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | Height | 6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m) |
| 175 lb (79 kg) | Weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Orthodox | Style | Southpaw |
| Former WBC/The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion | Recognition | Former IBF Super Middleweight Champion |
|
| ||
| Result | Pascal beats Bute by unanimous decision.[1] | |
Jean Pascal vs. Lucian Bute was a boxing light heavyweight Diamond championship fight for the vacant WBC Diamond title which took place on January 18, 2014 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[2][3][4][5][6] The bout, originally slated for May 25, 2013, had to be postponed after Bute underwent surgery to remove bone chips in his left hand.[7]
The co-production of Yvon Michel's GYM and Jean Bédard's Interbox promotions and televised via HBO, has trumped a proposed HBO-televised rematch between Jean Pascal and RING and WBC 175-pound champion Chad Dawson that was slated for the same date at Bell Centre in Montreal. Lucian Bute had the right to face Carl Froch in a contractually obligated rematch for the IBF Super Middleweight belt, but passed on that, freeing the Englishman to face Mikkel Kessler.[8]
It was the biggest fight in Canadian history since 1980, when Roberto Durán won a 15-round decision to win the welterweight world title in his first fight against Sugar Ray Leonard at Montreal's Olympic Stadium in front of 46,000 spectators.[9] Bute, who is fighting out of Montreal, versus Pascal was pitting the two biggest draws and most popular fighters in Canadian boxing who are considered huge stars in Quebec.[9] Pascal ended up winning the fight by unanimous decision.[1]
Background
Pascal
Pascal came off a unanimous-decision triumph over Aleksy Kuziemski in December 2012 that helped him to rebound from the unanimous-decision loss to Bernard Hopkins in May 2011.[8]
Bute
Bute came off a unanimous-decision victory over previously unbeaten Denis Grachev in November 2012, which helped him to rebound from last May's fifth-round knockout loss to Froch that dethroned him as titleholder.[8]
Reported fight earnings
- Jean Pascal $2,000,000 vs. Lucian Bute $2,000,000
Fight Card
| Fight card | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight Class | Result | Round | Time | Notes | ||||
| Light Heavyweight | Jean Pascal |
vs. | Lucian Bute |
WBC Diamond Light Heavyweight Championship belt | ||||
| Heavyweight |  Mike Perez |
vs. |  Carlos Takam |
|||||
| Light Heavyweight |  Eleider Álvarez |
vs. | Andrew Gardiner |
|||||
| Bantamweight | Sebastien Gauthier |
vs. |  Javier Franco |
|||||
| Welterweight | Mikaël Zewski |
vs. |  Krzysztof Szot |
|||||
| Light Middleweight | Sebastien Bouchard |
vs. |  Giuseppe Lauri |
|||||
| Light Welterweight | Yves Ulysse Jr. |
vs. | .svg.png){kind=small} Evaggelos Tsirimokos |
|||||
| Heavyweight | Oscar Rivas |
vs. |  Shawn Cox |
|||||
| Light Heavyweight |  Artur Beterbiev |
vs. |  Gabriel Lecrosnier |
|||||
International Broadcasting
| Country / Region | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Australia |
Main Event |
 Brazil |
SporTV |
| Canada |
Indigo |
 Croatia |
Fight Channel |
| France |
Canal+ Sport |
 Hungary |
Sport 1 |
| Poland |
Polsat Sport |
| Romania |
Digi Sport |
 United States |
HBO |
 United Kingdom |
Sky Sports |
Notes
- 1 2 "Jean Pascal tops Lucian Bute by decision". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ↑ "Bute-Pascal: c'est officiel" (in French). Le Journal de Montréal. 15 March 2013.
- ↑ "C'est fait: Bute affrontera Pascal le 25 mai" (in French). La Presse. 15 March 2013.
- ↑ "Lucian Bute-Jean Pascal superfight set for May 25". CANOE -- SLAM! Sports. 15 March 2013.
- ↑ "Pe stadion, dar nu la Bucureşti » Bute va juca cu Pascal în aceeaşi zi în care Froch va boxa cu Kessler" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 14 March 2013.
- ↑ "OFICIAL: S-a semnat! Interviu EXCLUSIV cu Bute: "Sunt mai bun ca Pascal, îl voi epuiza fizic!"" (in Romanian). Prosport. 15 March 2013.
- ↑ http://www.boxingscene.com/bute-vs-pascal-announcement-expected-shortly--63294 Bute vs. Pascal Announcement is Expected Shortly
- 1 2 3 "Deal for Pascal-Bute bout signed". ESPN. 16 March 2013.
- 1 2 "Jean Pascal, Lucian Bute to fight". ESPN. 18 February 2013.