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SPORTSSaturday 30 January 2016
Ahead of Kovalev rematch:
Pascal gets re-education from Freddie Roach
GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jean
Pascal was a fighter in
need of a reboot.
The former light heavy-
weight champion had
been stopped for the first
time in his career by Sergey
Kovalev in March, and he
squeaked out a debatable
decision over less-herald-
ed Yunieski Gonzalez four
months later.
Pascal secured a rematch
with the imposing Kovalev,
but knew he needed to
reinvent himself to have a
Boxer Jean Pascal, from Canada, flexes his muscles during his weigh-in Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, in
Montreal. Pascal will face champion Sergey Kovalev, of Russia, in a rematch for Kovalev’s IBF-
WBA Super World-WBO light heavyweight titles on Saturday.
chance at revenge against
the three-belt champion at
178 pounds.
So Pascal followed the well-
worn path to Hollywood’s
Wild Card Gym and train-
er Freddie Roach, who
has made a career out of
boosting already success-
ful fighters to new heights.
The results of their partner-
ship will be on display Sat-
urday night on HBO from
Montreal, and they both
believe the boxing world
will be surprised.
“Nobody bosses Jean Pas-
cal,” the Haitian-born Ca-
nadian said. “I am my own
boss. I need a partner, and
Freddie is the right partner
right now. I’ve been there,
done that. I’m a veteran. I
went to the Olympics, and
I’ve had all the major fights. lywood.
I became a world cham-
pion, and I’m about to
become a two-time world
champion. I needed more
like a partner to help me to
evolve than a boss.”
While Roach’s master-
work is his transformation
of Manny Pacquiao from
a skinny prospect into a
transcendent champion,
Pascal is the latest in a long
line of established veteran
fighters who have come
through the Wild Card’s
dingy doors. Roach’s suc-
cesses include Oscar De
La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins,
James Toney and currently
Miguel Cotto, who cred-
its Roach with his lucrative
late-career surge.
“He’s a coach who likes to
listen,” Pascal said. “It’s not take in the first fight against
only his way or the high-
way. He’s going to ask me
questions. He’s going to try
to see my point of view,
and he’s going to explain
his point of view. He has a
good ear, and in my ex-
perience, this is a quality
coach.”
Roach has plenty of work,
and he initially turned
down Pascal’s entreat-
ies, believing the veteran
fighter wasn’t interested in
changing. Pascal was per-
sistent, and Roach even-
tually agreed to an eight-
week training camp in Hol-
“Every guy is different in Eastern Kentucky defensive end Noah Spence runs through
a job like this, but making drills during NCAA college football practice for the Senior Bowl,
this one better was kind of Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, at Ladd–Peebles Stadium, in Mobile,
easy, because he made Ala.
so many mistakes,” Roach
said. “It was real easy to
do. I did the same things
I’ve done for many fighters Booted out of the Big Ten, Noah
along the way, but he just Spence remains strong prospect
needed to learn the cor-
rect way to do it. It was very
small adjustments. Now
he’s using his power in his
left hand, and his balance
has come along quite a bit.
I’m very surprised at how
quickly he learns. Usually it
would take me three to six
JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer
MOBILE, Alabama (AP)
— Noah Spence has to
(Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP) repeatedly address the
troubled past that took him
months to get someone to from Ohio State to college
the level where I think he’s football exile and then to
at right now.” Eastern Kentucky.
Roach identified imitation Like every other Senior Bowl
as Pascal’s biggest mis- player, Spence is trying to
answer any questions po-
Kovalev. Pascal repeat- tential NFL employers might
edly dropped his hands have about his game dur-
and hung out on the ropes, ing the weeklong proving
putting himself in miserable session. Then, there are the
positions. team interviews, during
“I told him, ‘I know you like which Spence must explain
Roy Jones, but you’re not those past misdeeds.
Roy Jones,’” Roach said. A rising star as a pass rusher, 2014.
“’You’re a good fighter. he was banned from the
I’d rather you be you than Big Ten Conference after
him.’ I think it struck him a two failed drug tests, later
little bit, because I wasn’t admitting he used Ecstasy.
nice about it. I said, ‘You’re Thus the questions, and
a grown man. Why would Spence said there’s only
you emulate someone one way to face them.
else? That’s for kids.’ I’ve “Just tell them the truth,”
got a Bobby Orr shirt over he said. “You can’t make
there. I liked Bobby Orr up any stories. You can’t lie
when I was a kid. q about it. It feels better just
telling the truth and letting
them know everything and
to get past it and start talk-
ing about football again.”
He said that transition
comes pretty quickly and
that he’s met with too
many teams to name. The
New Orleans Saints were
among them. General
manager Mickey Loomis
said such meetings are
about collecting informa-
tion and forming a “first im-
pression.”
“Every guy you have ques-
tions about,” Loomis said.
“Obviously, there are things
that they have to answer, in
terms of an event that may
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
have happened. But the
process really is the same, I
think, for each player.”
Past troubles can be the
factor that drops a first-
round talent in the draft,
but Spence feels like he
has put his problems be-
hind him.
Now the challenge is con-
vincing prospective em-
ployers.
Spence was suspended
for the entire 2014 season
when the Buckeyes won
the national champion-
ship. The Big Ten perma-
nently banned him, deny-
ing his appeal in November
On the field, the 2013 all-
conference pick didn’t
miss a beat after transfer-
ring to FCS Eastern Ken-
tucky. He was a first-team
All-American after collect-
ing 11 1/2 sacks.
“I’ve grown up a lot,”
Spence said. “I’ve matured
like no other. It’s been a
great experience just go-
ing through all this and feel-
ing how it feels to be at the
bottom and then having
to work my way back up. It
feels great.”
Spence said he has
changed a great deal
since the behavior that led
to his ouster from the Big
Ten. He said he wallowed
for a couple of days after
the league’s decision be-
fore getting back to train-
ing for his next destination,
at the encouragement of
his father, Greg.
“I’m not the same as I was,”
Spence said. “I don’t think
the same. I’ve got a better
focus about me. q