Kovalev vs. Pascal: Live Round-by-Round Highlights and Analysis

What looked like it would be yet another early blowout suddenly turned into a dogfight, but, in the end, Sergey Kovalev got his man, stopping Jean Pascal in the eighth round to retain his unified light heavyweight championship on Saturday night at the Bell Center in Montreal.

Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KO) started out the fight stalking like a predator. He came forward behind his jab, which he stuck in the former champion’s chest, and used it to set up his power punches.

Pascal (29-3-1, 17 KO) was extremely cautious and conservative out of the gate, showing a healthy respect for his foe’s massive punching power.

He was knocked down in the closing seconds of Round 3 by a big right hand—the first time he’s been down in 34 professional fights—that left him nearly falling through the ropes.

Kovalev came out on the attack to begin Round 4, jumping on Pascal, who was not yet recovered from the knockdown, but finding that his foe was still game and willing to fight back.

Pascal not only stayed in the fight, but he won the next couple of rounds by backing Kovalev up and landing some big shots of his own that bothered the champion and tested his chin.

Still, it seemed only a matter of time before the end, with Kovalev once again finding his rhythm with the jab and power shots in Round 7.

Pascal was rocked in Round 8 and seemed about to go down when Kovalev tripped near the corner necessitating a timeout.

When he rose to his feet, Kovalev immediately pounced, landing a crippling right hand in the corner that forced referee Luis Pabon to intervene and stop the contest.

The stoppage wasn’t popular with the vociferously pro-Pascal crowd, but you could understand it, given the amount of punishment already inflicted on a fighter who seemed to have no legs left underneath him.

With the win, Kovalev retains the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight Championships.