Jean Pascal and Michal Cieslak battled this past Saturday for the WBC interim cruiserweight title, with Cieslak continuing his excellent form by coming out on top with a stoppage victory. The two headlined a New Era Promotions card in Pascal’s home country of Canada at the Place Bell in Laval, Quebec.
Jean Pascal vs. Michal Cieslak
While Canadian former world champion Jean Pascal (37-7-1, 21 KO’s) had already recorded a decent record with four wins over his past five fights, 36-year old Polish contender Michal Cieslak (27-2, 21 KO’s) was on a six-match knockout (KO) streak. The two would fight over the vacant WBC interim cruiserweight (200 lbs) title.
Pascal, 42, appeared initially to defy his age as he started off well, a semblance of the explosiveness he embodied at his peak showing through as he pushed back Cieslak several times. However, Cieslak seemed well-prepared for Pascal’s pressure and lingered well on the outside ― especially in the 2nd round where he outboxed Jean Pascal with the help of his jab.
Having gained an advantage in the 2nd round, Cieslak continued on with similar pressure in the 3rd round and in the closing minute of the round managed to corner Pascal where a right hand eventually dropped the Canadian fighter. Cieslak knocked Pascal down for a second time just seconds later following several combinations but the knockdown would be controversially ruled a slip instead.
In the 4th round, Michal Cieslak continued upon the work he established in previous rounds to dominate which eventually lead to Jean Pascal’s corner throwing in the ring, allowing Cieslak a technical knockout (TKO) victory in the 4th round.
Cieslak further won the vacant WBC interim title, putting Swedish fighter Badou Jack’s (29-3-3, 17 KO’s) position as WBC cruiserweight champion in jeopardy given Cieslak’s excellent form with Pascal becoming the 7th opponent in a row to be knocked out. In comparison, Jack only recently reappeared in the ring after an absence of almost two years and at 41 appears an easy path for Michal Cieslak at this point to become a world champion.
With Pascal missing out on becoming interim champion that could put him back towards challenging for a world title, the Canadian fighter might have reached the end of a prevalent career that saw him become a world champion several times.
Undercard fights:
Canadian contender Patrice Volny (19-2, 13 KO’s) seems to be attempting to make his mark in the super middleweight (168 lbs) division after suffering a loss to American middleweight (160 lbs) Austin Williams (18-1, 12 KO’s) in his last match. Fighting fellow Canadian Mponda Kalunga (11-2, 3 KO’s) at 168 lbs, Volny, 10 years older than 25-year old Kalunga, managed to record an 8-round unanimous decision (UD) win.
