Jean Pascal signs deal with both GYM and InterBox

Former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal will be co-promoted by Canada's two biggest promotional firms, Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) and InterBox, as well as getting his own start in the promotional game under Jean Pascal Promotions."I want to thank Group Yvon Michel and InterBox for making our negotiation smooth and seamless," said Jean Pascal Promotions CEO Greg Leon.

"Jean Pascal Promotions and I are truly looking forward to promoting with such outstanding organizations. Jean Pascal is already the box office champion of the Canadian market and without question that is a position that he will only have a firmer stronghold of following these next two events. We are looking forward to giving the fans the fights they are craving and I have no doubt that Jean Pascal will be the last man standing when all is said and done."

"We will work closely with GYM and InterBox across all platforms to design an integrated strategy that grows Jean Pascal's brand globally. Our entire team is very excited with the deal we have concluded," added Raven Brosier, consultant for Jean Pascal Promotions.

Pascal, 31, was reported to be a free agent not long ago, and there were plenty of ideas about where he might end up. In the end, he's partially stayed with his longtime promoter, Michel, while adding InterBox. Pascal's services are certainly in demand at this point, as the fighter is a ticket seller in Quebec, just beat Lucian Bute convincingly in January, and could be a major option for any of the light heavyweight titleholders.

Michel and InterBox have long been "rival" promoters, though not often in the truly unpleasant way of, say, Golden Boy vs Top Rank or Matchroom vs Frank Warren.

"At GYM, we are particularly pleased to continue our association with Jean Pascal, thru his company Jean Pascal Promotions, which began when he was 22, in 2005," GYM President Yvon Michel said. "Our alliance with InterBox in this project is not the result of a contextual improvisation but a long reflection that began at the end of last summer. Now, GYM and InterBox will join forces to offer the best opportunities for our boxers and to give our fans the best shows."

"For us at InterBox, we are excited to implement our agreement with GYM, to combine the respective talents of both organizations and work to present to boxing fans major fights. It is in this perceptive that fits the agreement with Jean Pascal Promotions. Our first goal was to keep this talented Quebec athlete here in Quebec," InterBox President Jean Bedard added.

This could mean that Sergey Kovalev and HBO are in an even tougher spot when trying to find lucrative and noteworthy opponents for the WBO titleholder. GYM just took Adonis Stevenson to Showtime with the aid of Al Haymon. Bernard Hopkins and Beibut Shumenov (who meet Saturday) are both with Showtime, as well.

Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KO) seemed to be the only potential money option out there for Kovalev, and that may have just washed away, as well.

"As President of Jean Pascal Promotions," Pascal said, "I have many new challenges ahead of me, but like I've done many times before, I plan on making history both inside and outside of the ring. I will be taking on the best challenges and give the fans their monies worth like I always do, but this time I will be doing so as a promoter and a boxer."

"This opportunity is like a dream come true for me. I'm very excited about working with and learning from Groupe Yvon Michel and InterBox to make our events something the fans will never forget. I have to thank Yvon Michel, Jean Bedard, and Jean Pascal Promotions CEO Greg Leon for making this deal possible. The rest of my staff - Antonio Decarie, Feymie Ze Lou and Raven Brosier - deserve great thanks also for being involved on every step of this new journey."