Boxers often describe their next fight as the most difficult of their career. Terry Osias, who will face Jean Pascal in July, is no exception. Even if, in fact, he has already measured himself against a much more formidable rival.
Osias (13-0, 6 KOs) will cross swords with Pascal (36-7-1, 20 KOs) on July 20 at the Montreal Casino. A fight which will take place at light heavyweight (200 lbs) and during which a minor WBC title should be at stake. This golden opportunity to make oneself known by rubbing shoulders with a big name in Quebec boxing could however not have been never come to fruition.
In 2021, the pugilist from Saint-Hubert had to put his career on hold after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The agreement which linked him to the Yvon Michel Group thus became obsolete. The illness and the treatments were hard, both physically and mentally.
Returning to the ring in March 2023, the 37-year-old boxer has since scored three victories in as many outings, including two by knockout.
“After chemotherapy, it transformed me,” he described in an interview with La Presse on Monday.
“My way of seeing life has changed,” he continues. You have to seize the present moment. I take more risks, because we don’t know when life might come and get us. »
One of these risks is to expressly ask to fight against a “boxing icon” like Pascal in order to obtain favorable visibility on the world stage, after having had a more or less confidential career until now. . It must be said that the two men already knew each other quite well, since Osias was Pascal’s training partner during some of his camps.
“I do it for me,” he explains. “It confirms why I’m still here, and that it’s not for nothing that I’m still here.”
“Jean is a former world champion. He didn’t take it seriously. He was surprised that Terry challenged him. I think it irritated him a little,” says Yan Pellerin, president of New Era Promotion, which is organizing the fight.
It remains to be seen how Jean Pascal will look when he enters the arena on July 20. The former owner of the WBC and WBA light heavyweight belts will then have spent 16 months without fighting. In his most recent fight, on March 16, 2023 in Laval, he lost by unanimous decision to the German Michael Eifert.
“Many say he didn’t box much, but Jean never stopped training. People don’t know that. He was a little negative after his defeat [against Eifert], but he never stopped sparring,” assures Pellerin.
Very good, but training and a real fight are still two very different things. In recent years, Pascal has been fond of repeating that he still has fuel left in the tank. And it is true that before his setback against Eifert, the Laval resident scored some certainly unexpected victories.
“We’re going to see the best Jean,” Osias believes. He wants to return to the world stage, and he wants a belt in another category. He wants to leave a great legacy [to boxing]. He doesn’t want to lose a fight like that. »
Regardless, the popularity of the always flamboyant Pascal seems intact. Yan Pellerin says he has raised more than $200,000 in sponsorships for the gala in four days, and many fans have already expressed their interest in purchasing tickets.
Osias intends to take full advantage of this platform to prove that he is capable of competing with the best. To make your way on the international stage. And to show once again that even illness will not have succeeded in slowing down his ambitions for long.
“This is the fight of my life,” he says.
Another one, you could say.
