The light heavyweight division is one of the few divisions in the sport to have a unified champion holding three or more belts, and it also holds the promise of potentially have an undisputed champion in 2015. Former light heavyweight champ, Jean Pascal, is one of the biggest names in the division and he has his eyes set on reclaiming his status in the division and also claim the biggest title of all, being the best light heavyweight in the world.

In part 1 of my “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with Jean Pascal, I discuss his upcoming March 14th title clash against WBO/WBA/IBF champion, Sergey Kovalev. I also get Pascal’s thoughts on the last time he was in the ring, and the odds circumstances that ended the fight Additional Pascal talks about a potential Adonis Stevenson fight, and what he thinks of Stevenson as a champion. Here is what Jean Pascal had to say.

Jenna J: You will be in a fight with Sergey Kovalev on March 14th. How do you feel about fighting for three title belts?

Jean Pascal: I’m very proud because I’m fighting the king of the division and I really think that I’m the best, but to prove that I’m the best, I have to fight the best so that’s what I’m doing right now. I think Kovalev has the same mentality, he wants to be the best and he wants to prove to the fans that he is the best, so that’s why he’s fighting me and I think it’s gonna make a great match up.

Jenna J: Besides wanting to fight the best, what is it that made you want to fight Kovalev? Did you see anything in his previous fight with Bernard Hopkins?

Jean Pascal: It’s simple, I want to fight the best. Kovalev is the king of the division, I’m the cash cow of the division, so the king of the division versus the cash cow would be a great match up. Also he’s got three belts and I want to be the world champion once again. It was meant to be.

Jenna J: The last time we saw you in the ring, you were facing an opponent that was supposed to be a tune up for you. The fight ended in odd circumstances; can you let the fans know what happened in that fight?

Jean Pascal: Honestly, I felt that I was fighting a boxer but I think he’s a soccer player, maybe he’s an actor because the punch that he received after the break wasn’t a hard punch.

The referee said “Break” but with the crowd and everything, I didn’t hear the referee and that’s why I punched. Then after that, his manager you can hear say in Spanish, “No te lavantes,” that means “Don’t get up.” I think that’s very bad for the sport and that’s why the fight got ruled a no contest.

Jenna J: How did you feel in the few minutes that you were in the ring?

Jean Pascal: I was feeling really bad for the fans because the fans paid big money to see the fight and the guy didn’t show up to fight, he came only to get his paycheck and that’s sad for the sport, it’s a disgrace for the sport and that’s very bad for the fans. I wanted to apologize for that, but it wasn’t my fault, it’s his fault because his manager said, “No te levantes, no te lavantes.”

Jenna J: The last time you had a full fight was in January of 2014, do you worry at all about ring rust, having had now under a round and a half in the ring in the last year?

Jean Pascal: The ring rust is an excuse for losers, I’m not a loser, I’m a winner. It’s been ten years that I’ve been in the boxing game, eighteen years in total with my amateur background. With eighteen years of boxing, you cannot have ring rust.

Ring rust is an excuse for losers and you’re gonna see on March 14th, I’m not gonna have any ring rust. I’m gonna be on my top because I know Kovalev is gonna be at his top and that’s gonna make for a wonderful fight, for the fans.

Jenna J: When you look at Sergey Kovalev, what do you see in him as a fighter?

Jean Pascal: He does everything very well. Honestly, Kovalev doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses. He’s very good with his distance, he’s a technical fighter and he can brawl as well, he can punch. That guy is gonna be very hard to beat but I know I’m the best and I know I got the tools to beat this guy and I’m gonna do it March 14th,

Jenna J: Why do you think Sergey had such an easy time with Bernard Hopkins?

Jean Pascal: To be honest with you, I don’t want to take anything away from Kovalev but in that fight, Bernard showed his age, forty nine. When Bernard faced me, he was forty four. In the forties, there’s a big difference between forty four and forty nine years old. The four year difference make a huge difference when you’re at forty.

I think Bernard showed age and I say that because he threw less than two hundred punches in the fight. Tell me, how can you win a fight when you throw less than two hundred punches? It makes no sense. I think it’s time to retire for Bernard.

Jenna J: Besides the fight Kovalev, there were talks of you facing Adonis Stevenson. While you said Kovalev is the real champion, Adonis has the RING belt. What happened with negotiations there?

Jean Pascal: Listen, belts don’t define a champion. Stevenson is not a real champion because he has the RING magazine belt. He ducked Kovalev, he ducked Hopkins and he ducked me. Belts don’t define boxers, belts don’t define champions. You can have the belt around your waist and be a coward. Stevenson is a p*ssy, he’s a coward and he’s a disgrace for the sport. He’s a disgrace for his nation and he’s a disgrace for my country.

Stay tuned to ontheropesboxing.com for part 2 of my interview with Jean Pascal