Usually a visiting fighter feels he was mistreated on the scorecards in an opponent’s hometown.
Jean Pascal, however, believes that the judges gave Germany’s Michael Eifert entirely too much credit for his work during their 12-round, 175-pound fight Thursday night in Pascal’s adopted hometown of Laval, Quebec, Canada. Pascal was a 7-1 favorite, yet Eifert outboxed him and won their IBF elimination match by large margins on two of the three scorecards at Place Bell.
Judges David Braslow (117-111) and Pasquale Procopio (118-110) scored nine and 10 rounds, respectively, for Eifert. Judge Anthony Paolillo had it closer, 115-113 for Eifert, who won seven rounds on his scorecards.
Procopio is from nearby Montreal, where Pascal (36-7-1, 20 KOs, 1 NC) has fought many times. Braslow is from Maryland and Paolillo resides in New York.
“It’s always different in Quebec,” Pascal said, according to the Montreal Gazette. “Normally, the local boxer gets the benefit of the doubt, but that wasn’t the case [Thursday night]. I landed the best shots. I don’t understand this decision. At 118-110, does that mean I won only two rounds?”
Though he pressed the action at times, the 40-year-old Pascal landed flush punches only sporadically. He also had difficulty dealing with Eifert’s jab and movement.
Eifert (12-1, 4 KOs) became the IBF’s mandatory challenger for one of the three light heavyweight titles owned by Montreal-based Russian knockout artist Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs). Pascal, a former WBC light heavyweight champion, said afterward that he will take some time to assess his boxing future.
Pascal and Eifert were supposed to fight February 9, but Pascal contracted COVID-19 while training and it was postponed five weeks.
“I don’t know if COVID affected me, but I was in good shape,” Pascal said. “Even after the fight, I still had energy. If you think I looked 40, at least I think I looked like a good 40. I’m the one who gave the better shots. I was forcing the fight, pushing him. I don’t understand the decision. I was never in danger.”
Pascal’s trainer, Orlando Cuellar, was much more critical than Pascal of the judges’ scorecards.
“[Eifert] threw shots, but most of them landed on the gloves,” Cuellar said. “I don’t see the scores … being accurate. I thought Pascal landed the harder shots. He felt Pascal’s power. Pascal did great body work. The other kid landed some shots, but missed a lot. It all depends what the judges like.
“Some judges fall asleep. I don’t think this was a fair decision. I thought Pascal did enough to win it. I don’t see how these judges could have taken this fight from Pascal. What [the judges] did here was wrong.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.