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Jean Pascal to face Michael Eifert in IBF light heavyweight eliminator on March 16

Jean Pascal (left) catches Marcus Browne during their August 2019 fight, which Pascal won by eighth-round technical decision.
Fighters Network
27
Jan

Former light heavyweight titleholder Jean Pascal and Michael Eifert will meet in an IBF eliminator at Place Bell in Laval, Canada, on Thursday March 16.

The two had originally been due to lock horns on February 9. However, Pascal caught COVID-19 and the show was postponed.

The victor will become the mandatory challenger for whoever wins tomorrow’s IBF/WBC/WBO 175-pound fight between reigning champion Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde.

Read: Yarde’s trainer embraces underdog role



Pascal (36-6-1, 20 knockouts), The Ring’s No. 8-rated light heavyweight, turned professional in 2005. The popular Canadian won the WBC title by outpointing Adrian Diaconu in 2009 and subsequently made four defenses.

However, losses to Bernard Hopkins (UD 12), Sergey Kovalev (TKO 8 and TKO 7) and Dmitry Bivol (UD 12) suggested that his time at the top had come to an end. To his immense credit, Pascal, now 40, has revived his career by posting wins over Marcus Browne (TD 8), Badou Jack (SD 12) and, most recently, Fanlong Meng (UD 12).

In the opposite corner, Eifert (11-1, 4 KOs) is much less experienced. The German only turned professional in June 2018 and has rarely fought outside of his home country. The 25-year-old has won the German national title and an IBF regional title to help move himself into a position to fight an eliminator.

The undercard will feature Mathieu Germain (21-2-1, 9 KOs) and Steven Wilcox (24-3-1, 7 KOs) meeting at junior welterweight.

Also scheduled to see action at light heavyweight is former amateur standout Joseph Ward (8-1, 4 KOs).

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].

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