John David Jackson: “Sergey Kovalev really took a lot out of Jean Pascal and I think this time Sergey is gonna put the nail on the coffin”

John David Jackson is a former two division world champion and one of the most respected trainers in the sport. Jackson is most known for his work in the corner of Sergey Kovalev, but has also worked with Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and recently with former champion Chris Algieri. Jackson hopes to kick the new year off with a winning effort, as his charge Kovalev is set to face Jean Pascal in a rematch.

In part 1 of my “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with John David Jackson, I discuss with him the upcoming rematch between Kovalev and Pascal, and get his views on if this was a fight that needed a sequel. Jackson also breaks down the fight and the impact he thinks Freddie Roach will have in Pascal’s corner. Additionally, John talks about a potential Kovalev-Stevenson bout and gives his view on Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley III. Here is what John David Jackson had to say.

Jenna J: Your fighter, Sergey Kovalev, has a rematch coming up with Jean Pascal. Was this a fight that you wanted to see happen or is it just another fight?

John David Jackson: Honestly, it’s not a fight that I really wanted for one simple reason, if you watch the first fight, Sergey was hurting Pascal and he was getting to him really nice with great shots towards the end. With Pascal’s last fight, he fought a Cuban kid and he looked shot, he looked really shot that fight.

My main concern is that Pascal could get really get hurt in this fight, and the fact that his trainer refused to train him for this fight lets you know that he knows that Pascal can get hurt during this fight. The first fight was good with Pascal, he did as well as he could. I knew he was gonna lose and get beat the way he did, and the second fight, it has to be a money thing because he’s not gonna win the second fight. This time Sergey is gonna knock him out, if he doesn’t stop him sooner than he did the first time.

Jenna J: Jean Pascal has been training with Freddie Roach for this fight, do you think he will make any difference in Pascal?

John David Jackson: No, none whatsoever. First of all, Freddie was not a defensive specialist, if you look at his fights and his career, defense wasn’t his forte. I’m not saying anything bad about Freddie, he does well with the fighters that he has and he has some very good fighters, but you can’t teach an old dog new trick, especially when it’s washed up.

Pascal is finished, that last fight with Sergey really took a lot out of him and I think this time Sergey is gonna put the nail on the coffin. The fact that he has Freddie Roach to help means nothing. First thing, Freddie can’t fight for him, once the bell rings Pascal has to go out and fight Sergey, so it doesn’t help him at all. Number two, if your trainer from the time that you were a child walks away from you and tells, “Don’t take this fight because you’re gonna get hurt,” what does that tell you?

The fact that he’s got Freddie means nothing, it brings nothing to the table, there’s nothing that Freddie can show that will be able to help him to deflect anything that Sergey is bringing to the table. Once you get hit you revert back to what you do best and what you’ve been taught prior to that fight, so the fact that it’s Freddie’s first fight with him, it will probably be his last because once he gets hit by Sergey. he’s gonna go back to what he once did, and in the last fight what he did before didn’t work for him, so it’s not gonna work in the rematch.

Jenna J: If Sergey wins his next fight there are talks of a fight with Adonis Stevenson and potentially with Andre Ward later in the year. Which one of those fighters do you think poses a bigger threat to Sergey Kovalev?

John David Jackson: I trained Stevenson for a while and in his left hand he has numbing power. From a fans point of view, that is a better fight because either fighter can get hurt. I think Sergey has a better set of whiskers than Stevenson and I think that will be the telling sign in that fight.

Stevenson brings one punch knockout power with the left hand, and the thing that helps Sergey in that fight is that Sergey punches hard with both hands and he’s a better boxer and combination puncher. From a fan point of view, you want to see a Stevenson-Kovalev fight because a knockout is guaranteed in that fight, the Ward fight presents different problems.

Jenna J: I want to get your thoughts on the boxing scene a little bit. Manny Pacquiao will be fighting Timothy Bradley for a third time, do you think there will be any difference in this third fight with Teddy Atlas training Tim?

John David Jackson: The first fight I thought Pacquiao won, the second fight he did win. To me, Timothy is a hell of a boxer but he’s not doing that like he used to. When he fought Marquez, he put on one tremendous display of boxing but I don’t know why he doesn’t use that more. Maybe Teddy can light that fire in him to make him be the fighter that he wants to be, a dominating aggressive fighter.

To me, Bradley’s a better boxer than I even gave him credit for. When I watched the fight with Marquez, I was really amazed with the way that he can box. Timothy Bradley is one hell of a boxer, not a puncher but a boxer. Boxing is his stronger suit, not punching, he should do that more but maybe Teddy sees something in him that can make him a better puncher and I can’t knock Teddy for that, he’s a hell of a teacher. If Teddy sees something that we don’t see, then maybe he can instill that in him.

I thought Pacquiao won the first two fights and I’m leaning towards Pacquiao in this fight, unless he’s grown kind of stale himself. The third fight can be interesting, I don’t know if it will be an exciting fight for the fans but it’s interesting because you have to see how much Manny has left in the tank and how much desire is left and how much killer instinct is left, because he’s a very humble person.