Stevenson waits in wings for Bute-Pascal winner as seconds out for 2014

Photo courtesy of Will Hart / HBO

Stevenson waits in wings for Bute-Pascal winner as seconds out for 2014

Lucian Bute and Jean Pascal lock horns tonight in Montreal to ring the opening bell on 2014, in a bout that is seen as an unofficial eliminator for light heavyweight WBC and RING Magazine champion Adonis Stevenson later this year.

In an otherwise quiet opening month, this all-Canadian clash has divided expert opinion over who will emerge on top. Has Bute’s confidence recovered sufficiently from his rabbit-in-the-headlights ambushing from Nottingham’s Carl Froch in 2012? Can Pascal live up to his billing as favorite and keep his stamina issues at bay? We shall soon find out in the biggest fight Canada has seen since Roberto Durán outpointed Ray Leonard to win the world welterweight title in 1980’s Brawl in Montreal.

One man who’ll be watching tonight’s proceedings intently will be Stevenson. The 2013 Fighter of the Year candidate, also a Quebec resident, looks to defend his titles against Andrzej Fonfara before meeting the winner of Bute and Pascal. Showing no immediate desire to sign for a Fight of the Year-worthy unification match against concrete-fisted Russian Sergey Kovalev, a second Canadian showdown versus tonight’s victor should follow in the summer or fall.

Both Bute and Pascal have fallen to defeats to super middleweight titlist Carl Froch – whose rematch clause to Bute I understand has now expired and who avoided then-mandatory challenger Stevenson at 168 pounds last year. One school of thought is that Bute wins a wide decision provided its a boxing match and not an ambush, while the other is that Pascal’s “punchers chance” is huge given his opponents questionable resistance to bombing punches. Despite his lack of a signature win or performance against a marquee name, Bute’s talent and boxing skills are widely acknowledged but Pascal’s chin and punching power are underrated, and is therefore the safer pick for the win.

With living legend Roy Jones in his corner, expect Jean Pascal to take the spoils inside six rounds in what should prove an absorbing collision of styles. With Kovalev and wily, sage veteran Bernard Hopkins waiting in the wings with lineal champ Stevenson and 168 pound rivals Andre Ward, Froch and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. keeping their powder dry, the light heavyweight division is shaping up to be very heavy in 2014!

-Stephen “Showtime” Lynch

Contributor for www.BehindTheGloves.com