The ultimate Canadian boxing showdown on May 25, featuring world champions Lucian Bute and Jean Pascal, will be held at historic Bell Centre in Montreal, it was officially announced last night at the iconic venue by co-promoters InterBox and Groupe Yvon Michel.
(PHOTO BY; Keisha Morrisey, Jean Pascal after the Hopkins vs. Cloud Boxing Event)
Bute vs. Pascal has the potential to be the Greatest Fight in Canadian boxing history, eclipsing Roberto Duran-"Sugar" Ray Leonard I (1980 in Montreal), Muhammad Ali-George Chuvalo (1968 in Toronto) and Archie Moore-Yvon Durelle I (1958 in Montreal), in terms of national pride and popularity, as well as worldwide interest.
Romania-native Bute and Pascal, who was born in Haiti, have both lived for several years in the Montreal suburb of Laval, Quebec. They're world-class boxers in their fighting primes who have built large, passionate fan-bases throughout Canada. Both fighters proudly call Bell Centre their home: Bute is perfect in 20 fights (15 KOs) there and Pascal has won seven of eight fights (3 KOs).
The 33-year-old Bute (31-1, 24 KOs) captured the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super middleweight title in 2007, stopping defending champion Alejandro Berrio in the 11th round at Bell Centre. The talented southpaw, known as, "Le Tombeur" reeled-off nine straight successful title defenses - including three against world champions Glen Johnson, Brian Magee and William Joppy - before suffering his first loss as a professional last May to Carl Froch (TKO5) in the United Kingdom.
In his most recent fight, Bute moved up to fight in the light heavyweight division, winning a 12-round decision over previously unbeaten Russian invader Denis Grachev (12-0-1) for the vacant North American Boxing Federation (NABF) championship this past November at Bell Centre. Bute is world rated #2 by the World Boxing Council (WBC), #3 by The Ring Magazine, and #4 by the IBF and World Boxing Organization (WBO) in the super middleweight division.
Pascal (27-2-1, 16 KOs), a 2004 Canadian Olympian, moved up to the light heavyweight division in 2009, capturing the WBC 175-pound division crown by way of a 12-round decision over 26-0 Andrian Diaconu at Bell Centre. The 30-year-old Pascal, currently ranked #2 by the WBC, successfully defended his belt at Bell Centre against Silvio Branco (TKO10) and Diaconu (DEC12) in a rematch, and then he added the International Boxing Organization (IBO) championship by defeating 29-0 Chad Dawson by 11th round technical knockout.
Pascal fought a 12-round majority draw with living legend Bernard Hopkins, who won their rematch at Bell Centre by decision. Last December, Pascal returned to the ring at Bell Centre, overcoming a shoulder injury to win a 12-round decision versus 2004 Polish Olympian Alex Kuziemski.
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