Jean Pascal: I’m Gonna Bring Fanlong Meng To The Unknown

It's Jean Pascal fight week, and he's back in action after a long layoff when he challenges Fanlong Meng (17-0, 10 KOs) at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida, this Friday.

Why the long layoff? Well, Pascal was (35-6-1, 20 KOs, 1 NC) supposed to rematch Badou Jack from their 2019 clash before testing positive for banned substances last year. That fight went away as well as Pascal. He has since served a six-month suspension and was stripped of his WBA “regular” title. I figured I'd ask about the PED test that added time to the vacation.

“I had some dark times because of that test because, you know, I was pulling for a clean sport. I'm a clean athlete. I don't know what happened, but I'm focusing on the future right now,” Pascal said to NYFights.com.

Pascal continued “One thing that I know is that haters like to talk shit like, “Oh, he got busted,” so we have to question mark everything that he did. Nope. You can't do that because I was tested in every major fight. All my career, I always tested negative. When I fought Badou (Jack), I was tested. When I fought Marcus Browne, I was tested. I always tested negative my whole career, and now this shit happened to me? It felt like the end of the world.”

Photo Credit: Harry Castiblanco/ProBox TV

Pascal sounded genuine talking to me about that, so I kept it moving. I switched to asking about what he knew about Meng for a scouting report heading into Friday.

“To be honest with you, we don't really know much about Fanlong Meng because there's not much about it on the internet,” Pascal told NYFights.com. “But for this fight, like for me, it is China versus West Canada. It's going to be a great fight.”

Pascal is right. There isn't much on Meng as he had essentially fallen off the map since the pandemic when he was to challenge Artur Beterbiev as the IBF mandatory opponent. That instead went to Adam Denies as he was able to travel to Russia in 2021 and Meng couldn't from China. Meng has been active in the ring as he last defeated Panamanian Israel Duffus last October.

Photo Credit: Harry Castiblanco/ProBox TV

At 39, Pascal knows this is the last ride to get to the top and looks to do just that Friday on Probox TV. Heads up, as even I don't get a discount, it's 1.99 a month or $18/year subscription to that platform which listed airing 2-3 fights monthly.

“I just want to show the world that when it comes to Pascal, there is a reason I've been on top for over 12 years. I'm gonna show my experience. I'm gonna show my talents. I'm gonna bring Fanlong Meng to the unknown.”