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Jean Pascal knows he has a big experience edge over Meng Fanlong in their fight on Friday, May 20.
The former light-heavyweight champion has been out of the ring since a split-decision victory over Badou Jack in December 2019. The two were set for a rematch in June 2021, but were canceled after Pascal tested positive for banned substances.
Despite his troubles off the ring and his time not competing, he feels confident ahead of his return. He's set to clash with the undefeated Fanlong this Friday, but isn't worried. The main reason being that he has a big experience edge over his Chinese foe.
Fanlong sits at 17-0 as a professional boxer, but most of his fights have been low-level competition. It's partially because of their difference in competition that Pascal feels he'll have a big advantage. In an interview with BoxingScene, the 39-year-old opined that Fanlong doesn't know what it's like to fight at the top level.
In the interview, he said:
“He’s going to the unknown. We have been there many times – been there, done that. So, I know where I’m going to. He doesn’t know. He’s gonna find out on Friday night, but I can say that I have to be careful because he’s younger than me, he wants to prove that he belongs at the top, so I know he trained very hard, he had good sparring partners."
He added:
"So, I’ll always be ready for any fight that I have, and that won’t change today. I’m in shape, I trained very hard. I had a long layoff, but that was enough and now it’s time to return in the ring.”
See Pascal's interview with BoxingScene below:
Will Jean Pascal defeat Meng Fanlong?
It's possible that Jean Pascal is sleeping on Meng Fanlong ahead of their fight, but nobody else is.
Fanlong has faced lackluster competition so far in his career but he's an excellent boxer, and it showed in his wins. While he's faced so-so boxers, he's destroyed them the way you'd expect a future champion to do.
Adding in the fact that Pascal is coming off a three-year layoff, and is 39, the deck seems stacked against him. It's possible that the former light-heavyweight champion will rise to the occasion, but he's a slight underdog as of now, and for good reason.
However, if Jean Pascal of old shows up on Friday, this one could be a classic.
