IBF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT ON SHOWTIME® AGAINST UNDEFEATED DEFENDING CHAMPION TAVORIS CLOUD
MONTREAL (July 26, 2012) – The much-anticipated showdown between undefeated International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (24-0, 19 KOs), of Tallahassee, Fla., and popular hometown favorite and former World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight titleholder Jean Pascal (26-2-1, 16 KOs), scheduled for August 11 live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on SHOWTIME®, has been postponed to a later date due to a right-hand injury sustained by Pascal during a sparring session 1 ½ weeks ago.
“To tell you the truth, Pascal said at yesterday’s press conference in Montreal, “I was so sad when the decision was made that I even cried. This is the first time it’s happened to me for a fight. I haven’t fought in 15 months and this was a golden opportunity for me. Thanks to everybody involved for rescheduling. This will make me stronger when I get in the ring.”
The “Shock Wave In Montreal” undercard, featuring an IBF super middleweight title eliminator between Canadian knockout artist Adonis “Superman” Stevenson, (18-1, 15 KOs), of Montreal, and United States Boxing Association (USBA) champion Donovan “Da Bomb” George (22-2-1, 19 KOs), of Chicago, Illinois, has been postponed until late August or early September.
“Jean Pascal tried hard to fight through his hand injury with a cortisone shot and therapy,” Pascal’s promoter Yvon Michel (GYM) explained, “but after yesterday’s second MRI on his hand, we were notified by Dr. Francis Fontaine that he would not give medical clearance for Jean Pascal to fight on August 11. The evaluation revealed that Jean has a bone bruise and only rest can heal it. He was in good physical condition and his weight was right where we wanted it to be at this stage. He had an excellent training camp, right on target, preparing to fight Cloud.
“Jean is a warrior. He tried extremely hard to convince us to let him fight because he believed he could beat Cloud with one good hand like he did when he defeated Adrian Diaconu (December, 2009) with a dislocated shoulder. At 29 years old and reaching his peak, we were not about to let him jeopardize his career by fighting injured. Jean has always challenged and fought best during his career. He certainly is not afraid of Cloud.
“Cloud vs. Pascal is the best fight the light heavyweight division can provide. Both are fan friendly fighters who want to establish themselves as the best puncher in the 175-pound division. It’s a huge fight in Montreal where tickets sales were very high and we were headed for a crowd of 10,000, which is great for a summer event in Montreal. Fans deserve to watch these two fighters at their physical bests. We are working with Stephen Espinoza (Showtime) and Don King to reschedule this great show in the fall. We are all committed to rescheduling and grateful that Showtime recognizes Cloud vs. Pascal as one of the most entertaining light heavyweight match-ups in years. Within a week we hope to have everything finalized in terms of rescheduled this great fight.”
“Pascal has Tavorisitis,” Cloud’s promoter Don King. “He needs more time to get his courage up to fight this smaller version of Tyson. Tavoris is of the Tyson ilk. He’s a search-and-destroy kind of guy.
“Pascal has been tweeting that he had a sad day because his Mercedes-Benz had a flat tire. Well, Tavoris is going to give Pascal a flat ass to go with his flat tire. This is going to be the fight of the decade. Tweet that!
“Tavoris Cloud is decreeing war on Jean Pascal and he’s taking no prisoners. He told me he can’t wait to get to Canada to destroy this faker and win the hearts and minds of his new Canadian brothers and sisters. Viva Canada!!!”
“When Tavoris heard Pascal said he cried over this injury, he said to just wait until he gets done with Pascal, he’ll be crying like a baby.”
Tickets purchased for the August 11th show will be honored on the new Cloud vs. Pascal date, but may also be reimbursed at point of purchase.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
