Quebec boxer Jean Pascal will make his return to the ring after two and a half years of absence this spring in Florida, reported informant Mike Coppinger Monday evening.
The former world champion would indeed face the Chinese Meng Fanlong in Plant City. It is however not specified if the duel will be televised on the airwaves of a major network in the United States.
Meng was originally supposed to take on Sergey Kovalev on March 19, but after promoter Triller moved the duel to May 14, the Chinese agreed to cross swords with Pascal.
This will be Pascal’s first outing since defeating Badou Jack by judges’ split decision in December 2019 in Atlanta. The Quebecer then defended his “regular” WBA light heavyweight title, but then lost it following positive doping tests.
Four banned products were found in Pascal’s body, including EPO. The boxer has always denied having deliberately ingested these substances. In an interview with La Presse last week, Pascal said that a hair test proved his claims and that he wanted to get “the benefit of the doubt” from amateurs and people in the industry.
