Jean Pascal trying to get under Marcus Browne’s skin ahead of Saturday fight

Veteran Jean Pascal went right at 175-pound contender Marcus Browne at the Thursday press conference in Brooklyn, to hype the Saturday card at Barclays Center, portions of which will run on free FOX.

Pascal took out a prop, a ladies wig, and waved it at Browne, who has a record of domestic incidents with his ex. Will you promise to try and KO me if I wear this wig, Pascal said. Browne was not at all amused; he promised that he’d settle up on Saturday.

People inhaled when Pascal said he brought something with him. He dug into a bag, and then grabbed the wig, after saying Browne ran like a chicken and held like an octopus.

“If I wear this, if I wear this, are you gonna promise the world,” he said, waving the wig, “if I wear this and look like a woman, are you going to promise the world that you gonna knock me out? Like you used to do? Let me know! If I wear this, this wig, are you gonna promise to knock me out this time around?”

”I see you Saturday,” the 28-year-old Browne (23-0, 16 KO) responded.

They barked and shoved when doing their final staredown, and were seperated.

I asked Pascal (33-6-1, 20 KO; turns 37 in October) adviser Greg Leon about that move. Was it debated before or was it toally spur of the moment?

”It appeared to get under Marcus Browne’s skin from where I stood. He told the press not to blink or buy popcorn when the fight was first announced. Jean wants to make this a dog fight and go to war with Browne,” Leon said. “Is Marcus up for that challenge against the most established guy he’s ever faced? We’ll find out on Saturday night.”

Leon said that Browne left the presser after the two men jawed and shoved and barked at each other during the staredown, without doing more press.

One wonders if that wig might make another appearance, perhaps at the weigh-in, being that maybe Pascal thinks this could take Browne off his mental game.

All is fair in love and war and boxing?

Keith Connolly advises Browne. I asked him, would Browne or him like to respond, on the record?

”It means nothing,” he told me. And no, he doesn’t think Pascal, 4-4 in his last eight and coming off a loss to Dmitriy Bivol, got under the skin of Browne.

Leon backed up his guy’s move: “Why did Marcus need to be held back by Curtis Stevens? Why did Marcus think it was cool to call Pascal his son and swipe his head?”

Let’s put it this way; that fight just went from a 4 or 5 on the amp-o-meter to a solid 8.5. We shall see if this is just gamesmanship, much ado about nothing, or if the Haitain-born Canadian’s chops-busting pays off.

FOX will show their fight, the second of a three-bout slate, Saturday, starting at 8 pm ET.