Jean Pascal vs. Roberto Bolonti: Preview and Prediction for Upcoming Bout
Jean Pascal is a man in high demand these days, but before he can move on to bigger fights, he needs to take down the challenge of Roberto Feliciano Bolonti on Saturday night at the Centre Bell in Montreal.
According to The Ring's Lem Satterfield, Pascal, a former lineal light heavyweight champion, has recently been linked to possible fights with current champions Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev, but he has business to tend to first. A win here means bigger and better things, but a loss would cripple those plans.
Bolonti was originally supposed to face Lucian Bute in the main event, but ended up with Pascal after Bute and Donovan George pulled out, leaving both men in need of an opponent. The Argentine isn’t highly regarded, but he has the opportunity to upset the well-laid plans of quite a few people.
Read on for your complete preview and prediction of Pascal vs. Bolonti.
Tale of the Tape
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| Jean Pascal | Roberto Feliciano Bolonti | |
| Record | 29-2-1, 17 KO | 35-3, 24 KO |
| Age | 32 | 35 |
| Height | 5'10.5" | 5'11" |
| Weight | 175 (last fight) | 174.25 (last fight) |
| Reach | 72" | Unlisted |
| Stance | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Hometown | Port-au-Prince, Haiti | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Rounds | 233 | 185 |
| Last Fight | UD 12 Lucian Bute (1/18/14) | L UD 12 Juergen Braehmer (6/7/14) |
All stats and information per BoxRec.com.
Main Storylines
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Pascal is in a great spot.
A win against Bolonti—widely expected—would all but guarantee him a shot at one of the biggest names in the light heavyweight division next year. According to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael and The Ring's Satterfield, both Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev have expressed a desire to fight him, but it seems that the Russian bomber has the inside track, based on comments made to BoxingScene.com by Jean Pascal Promotions CEO Greg Leon.
Pascal seems to have himself back on some solid footing after just three fights in the past three years, but he absolutely can’t afford a letdown in this fight. He needs to take care of business and move on.
Bolonti has some decent punching power, but barring something unexpected, he doesn’t seem like the kind of fighter to upset people's plans.
He was soundly thrashed by Braehmer in June—hardly winning a round—and should wind up with a similar result in this fight.
Bolonti was originally scheduled to face Bute, but instead he gets the man who beat the man. A more high-profile fight? Maybe. But certainly no easier.
Strengths
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Pascal comes at you like a swarm of bees, attacking with punches in bunches, backing you up and placing tremendous physical and mental pressure on his foes. He summed up his attacking mentality after beating Bute in January:
“When I go into the ring, I want to dominate. ... That was my game plan -- dominate all the time. Go in and out. To be vicious, active, explosive, and that's what I did from start to finish,” Pascal said via ESPN.com.
Pascal likes to dart in and out of range, landing his shots and getting out before his opponent can respond. He can be an explosive and dangerous puncher, and he has good hand speed and durability.
Bolonti isn’t exactly a pushover, but it’s hard to assess the true measure of his physical gifts.
In the few times we’ve seen him go up against quality opposition—both losses, to Braehmer and Tony Bellew—he’s looked pedestrian.
Bolonti has shown solid boxing ability in his prior contests, and he has a good jab that he uses to disrupt and set up his bigger shots. His punching power is solid, and he covers distance well in the ring. He's also durable, having never been stopped in 38 professional fights.
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Weaknesses
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Pascal needs to guard himself against the moment—with a lot on the line—and make sure that he doesn’t go all-in too early. His opponent has never been stopped, and the last thing you want to do in this spot is try and force something that isn’t there.
The former champion has to make sure he fights his style, which is swarming and aggressive, but conserve some energy for the stretch run if necessary.
Pascal does have a tendency to fade late in fights, and when he does, he becomes very one-dimensional.
Bolonti has never won a fight outside his native Argentina.
Why does that matter? Simply because that means, if you look at his record, he really hasn’t beaten a single opponent of note. Both times he tried, he was outclassed, and Pascal is a tougher nut than both Bellew and Braehmer.
Bolonti has never been stopped, but he’s been down a few times. Bellew dominated him, dropping him and cutting him up in a near-shutout decision.
Jean Pascal Will Win If...
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Pascal didn’t show anything resembling ring rust or reluctance to attack in his dominant victory over Bute this past January. He attacked like the fighter of old, hurt his man and made him wary of mounting much in the way of offense.
It was good to see that, despite the injuries and setbacks that cost him large swaths of the past several years, the former champion still has the goods to compete at a high level.
And there’s none higher than what awaits him, should he take care of business.
Pascal isn’t going to change what or who he is as a fighter.
He should begin the fight aggressively—he’s typically a very fast starter—and not give Bolonti any quarter or time to get comfortable in the fight.
Remember, even though both men are new opponents for each other, Bolonti is the one having to make the greater tactical adjustments late in the game.
Pascal’s aggressive, swarming, punches-in-bunches style isn’t the same as that of Bute, who is more comfortable boxing, controlling distance and setting up his bigger shots methodically.
If I’m the former champion, I get right out of the gate strong, attack Bolonti early and often and overwhelm him with activity.
Roberto Feliciano Bolonti Will Win If...
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Again, never say never, but barring something totally shocking, it’s hard to find a way for Bolonti to win this fight. The talent and experience gaps just seem too much for him to overcome.
But in boxing, those can sometimes be famous last words.
Bolonti needs to find ways to turn Pascal’s notorious aggression against him. Weathering the early storm in the first couple of rounds is going to be key.
If he gets overwhelmed early, the fight could get away from him in a hurry.
The Argentine does have a solid jab, which he would be smart to use as a weapon to pop Pascal coming in and if he gets a little careless on the attack.
That can set him up to land damaging blows that could change the game, either by hurting Pascal or making him more reluctant to bull inside.
It’s a long shot, but boxing effectively, using the jab and having enough zing in his punches to gain respect seem like smart tactics for Bolonti to employ in order to win this fight.
And the Winner Will Be...
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Pascal just isn’t losing in this spot.
Not in front of his fans, and not with so much on the line.
The former champion is the more skilled and experienced fighter, and he should have little trouble executing his game plan and walking out of the Bell Centre with victory No. 30 of his career.
The smart money seems to say that Pascal’s aggression and attacking style will overwhelm Bolonti and force him into a defensive posture.
The Argentine has been dropped but never stopped, and Pascal isn’t a particularly big puncher, so a knockout—unless on cuts or referee stoppage—doesn’t seem overly likely.
But Pascal will use every drop of his experience to capture a convincing unanimous decision and move forward to a showdown, likely with Kovalev, at some point next year.
Prediction: Pascal UD 12 Bolonti (118-110)
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