WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Jean Pascal retained his title last night after a technical decision at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Both fighters gave their all in a thrilling contest, but Pascal eventually came out on top after a clash of heads caused a cut over Dawson’s right eye and led the contest to be halted in the eleventh round.
Jean Pascal wins
Dawson was previously unbeaten but immediately called for a rematch after the judges scored the contest 108-101, 106-103, and 106-103 in favor of the Champion.
“We both fought a great fight,” Dawson said. “He was holding and head-butting me all night. I didn’t complain, not one time.”
Jean Pascal had shaken Dawson in the seventh. But Chad came back to corner Pascal in the eleventh with a flurry of punches.
He felt like he had the better of the fight until the cut.
“I was on the way to stopping him, and he knew that,” Dawson said. “Before they stopped the fight, I had him hurt. We had two more rounds to fight.”
But Pascal thought he had the fight in the bag even before the cut occurred, and the judge’s scorecards reflected that fact.
Dirty fighter
“I know for sure I’m not a dirty fighter, and it wasn’t an intentional head-butt. Why would I need to do that? I was leading the fight,” said Pascal
“I knew with my speed in the ring I could beat Chad Dawson,” added the Haitian-born Pascal, 27, whose only loss came against Britain’s Carl Froch.
With both fighters feeling they could have won the fight, a possible rematch cannot be ruled out in the near future.
“I’ve got a rematch clause, so we’re going to do it again,” Dawson said. “We’ve got to do it again.”
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