Jean Pascal vs Michael Cieslak Preview June 28th, 2025
Former WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Jean Pascal of Haiti takes on Poland’s Michael Cieslak for the vacant interim WBC Cruiserweight Belt this Saturday, June 28th. The 12-round contest from Laval, Quebec can be seen live on Triller TV. Pascal last fought in September when he stopped Terry Osias in the 10th and final round for the vacant WBO NABO Cruiserweight Belt. Cieslak’s last outing resulted in a third-round TKO over Felix Valera in October.
Pascal vs Cieslak Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jean Pascal +391
- Michael Cieslak -600
My Pick
The 42-year-old Pascal, who fights out of Quebec, Canada, retired in 2018 and then decided against it. At the time it turned out to be a wise move as he would win the WBA and WBC world titles against Badou Jack, but he then failed drug tests and was stripped of the belts. He climbs into the ring with a record of 37-7-1 with 21 Ko’s and is actually a three-time champion at light heavyweight and has owned the IBO, WBC and WBA versions of the title at one time or another.
Pascal stands just under 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 72-inch reach and is strong and generally aggressive. He owns a decent amount of power in his fists but isn’t really considered to be a knockout artist with 56.8 per cent of his wins coming by stoppage and five of his last six fights have gone the distance. He did halt Osias in his last contest but his previous KO came in 2018 when he halted Steve Bosse in the eighth round.
Pascal has a pretty good chin and speed to go along with his skills even though he was stopped by Sergey Kovalev in 2015 and again in 2016. He’s been in the ring with some fine light heavyweights and super middleweights such as Kovalev, Jack, Dmitri Bivol, Falong Meng, Marcus Browne, Adrian Diaconu, Carl Froch, Chad Dawson, Lucian Bute, Bernard Hopkins and Eleider Alvarez. Along with losing twice to Kovalev his other defeats came to Froch, Hopkins, Alvarez, Bivol and Michael Eifert by decisions and his lone draw was a 12-round affair with Hopkins in 2010 in their first meeting.
Pascal usually lets his hands go and pressures his opponents while displaying pretty good footwork. His knockouts usually come after he’s worn his opponent down for several rounds but he has enough power to drop anyone if he lands one square on the chin. He has plenty of experience with 355 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2005 following a fine amateur career which ended up with him fighting in the 2004 Olympics. This will be just his second fight as a cruiserweight though.
The 36-year-old Cieslak makes the ring walk with a mark of 27-2 with 21 Ko’s and has boxed 139 rounds since turning pro in 2013 following an amateur career. He’s got pretty good power in his punches as 77.8 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his last nine. Actually he’s 11-2 in his last 13 fights with all 11 wins coming by stoppage. The last time he won a decision was back in 2018. As for his losses, Cieslak dropped a unanimous decision to Ilunga Makabu in January, 2020 for his first defeat as a pro in a shot at the vacant WBC Cruiserweight Title and was beaten by Lawrence Okolie by unanimous decision in February, 2022 in an attempt at the WBO Cruiserweight Crown.
As a pro, he’s won the European Cruiserweight Belt as well as the vacant Republic of Poland Youth International Cruiserweight Title, the vacant IBF Baltic Cruiserweight Belt and the Polish Cruiserweight Title. His best wins have been over Tommy McCarthy, Art Binkowski, Yury Kashinsky, Enrico Koelling, Ismail Abdoul, Jarno Rosberg, Taylor Mabika, Olanrewaju Durodola, Youri Kayembre Kalenga, Ivica Bacurin and Francisco Palacios. Cieslak is 6-feet-3-inches tall with a 79-inch reach which gives him a 4.5-inch edge in height and seven inches in reach over Pascal.
Prediction…
Pascal has fought some of the best boxers of his era as a light heavyweight and super middleweight but it’s unclear how much the illegal drugs aided him in the past. Cieslak has nowhere near the pro experience that Pascal has but he does have good power and boxing skills and is six years younger. He’ll need to use his skills to deal with all of the experienced Pascal’s tricks and if he takes the initiative and lets his hands go for all 12 rounds he could pull out a win. However Pascal has a legitimate shot in pulling off an upset here. I’ll toss a coin and go with Cieslak though.
Cieslak’s last 11 wins have all been by stoppage.
Play: Cieslak -600 @ BetOnline.ag
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Jean Pascal betting • Michael Cieslak betting