"The training for Pascal is totally different from that when training for Hopkins. Pascal is a physical guy who is strong and in shape, so we focused this fight on speed, you know, beating him to the punch...I know he can beat Pascal to the punch. He's a faster and longer fighter and Pascal will have to take one to get on the inside with him. With Bernard, I felt like he needed more cardio. With Pascal, I felt like he needed some weights...It's real animosity. He thinks Pascal is half-cocked because he has a couple of dollars," stated Quan Paxton, Strength & Conditioning coach of unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, who talked about their upcoming clash this Saturday with former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal. Check it out!
JR: Tell everyone your name, give a brief background on yourself real quick, and what your role is in working with Sergey Kovalev?
QP: My name is Quan Paxton and I'm the new top Strength & Conditioning Coach for Sergey Kovalev. My background includes other sports, like basketball, football, volleyball, as well as Track and Field. I train several athletes around the country, including tennis players. I'm just a new guy on the block bringing new energy and new crazy ways to help my fighter keep knocking people out and to keep winning championship belts.
JR: How did things come about in that role and what are some things that you see from him as a fighter that separates him from the rest in his division?
QP: Sergey is very disciplined. This is my second time working with him, so I kind of turned it up a notch a bit more. The training for Pascal is totally different from that when training for Hopkins. Pascal is a physical guy who is strong and in shape, so we focused this fight on speed, you know, beating him to the punch. Sergey is very focused and has a lot of motivation from his son being born, so whenever he slipped a little bit in camp, I might bring his son up just to keep him motivated. Sergey is my guy!
JR: Since the honeymoon period from working with Sergey is over, how has it been working with Sergey this time around?
QP: It was cool and I think we have a great relationship. It wasn't like "meet and greet" like last time. I kind of know what he likes to eat and he knows what I like to eat. Our conversations have gotten deeper watching him as a man, husband, businessman, and friend. Sergey is a cool guy. He lives in L.A.., just like I do. You know, I'm from the hood and he's from the hood. But Russia's hood is totally different than Detroit's hood. There's no help in Russia like there is here in the U.S. If you ain't got no food in Russia, then all hope is lost.
JR: How long was training camp this time around and was there anything that you had to restore?
QP: I got there a week earlier than John David Jackson did. Sergey and I like to get into the weights right away. When we started camp, he was still in good shape. We just had to work on the core a bit, but that's with anybody. We spent about 3 1/2 weeks in Big Bear, 3 weeks in Miami, and then off to Montreal. We went hard in Big Bear! I pulled out the sledgehammer, the big tires, and the bands. I know he can beat Pascal to the punch. He's a faster and longer fighter and Pascal will have to take one to get on the inside with him. With Bernard, I felt like he needed more cardio. With Pascal, I felt like he needed some weights. But for Pascal, we turned up the cardio as well, being in the mountains where the roads are up and down like in San Francisco. We ran in the snow some days. It was a tough camp, man, and I pushed him until the end on this one. I wanted him to be stronger, tougher, and quicker than Pascal. He's going to realize that Kovalev can hit and that's going to be the biggest thing.
JR. What were some of the key things that you focused on in preparation with Sergey?
QP: When the fight got signed, I Iike to prep, so I called John [David Jackson]. I asked him, "How do we beat this guy?" John said, "We're going to beat him to the punch, so let's make Sergey faster and stronger." I wanted to prep my workouts according to how John feels where Sergey needs to be at. We had great sparring for this camp. A lot of people don't understand that Sergey had a very decorated amateur career. Even though Pascal is strong, witty, and throws punches from angles, we trained like we were broke, rough, rugged, long beards, and everything. We left every workout with a puddle of sweat on the floor, man. He would grab the water and crush the water and say, "That Pascal, I'm going to kick his ass."
JR: Is the language barrier getting better for yourself and John David Jackson?
QP: It is, man, it is! Sergey is able to pick up things a little faster. You know, we're both educated and from the streets and you got to know how to represent both sometimes when you're out there like that speaking to a person. I've taught him some proper English and taught him some slang. If I say something in slang, he'll be like, "What's that mean?" When I explain it, Sergey will be like, "Oh yeah, I heard of that before." Then he'll use the word 2-3 days later and throw it back to me. So he's a creative guy and the communication has got much better in between us all.
JR: There was an issue with the urine and blood test agreement between the two promotions on the choice being selected. Although it's fallen out now, from your point of view, what were you guys really pushing for?
QP: We just wanted a level playing ground where everybody is equal and nobody is using extra stuff. Pascal hired a guy that has been convicted. Then they have the nerve to call us out and want to do the type of testing they want to do when you aren't even on the A side. Who are you? I understand you won a belt before, but that was before though. You're not the champ right now. The champ is over here. We should be able to dictate what you do. So we go to VADA, but Kathy Duva is saying he doesn't want to do VADA and he wants to do his own. I thought that wasn't cool and I thought he had some balls to tell somebody when he's not the champ that I want you to do this because he feels like whatever. Sergey does not like that guy and he thinks he's a piece of shit. That's how Russians are; either they like you or they don't like you and there's no in between. Sergey thought he was real foul to come off the way Pascal was coming off.
JR: So there's real animosity there against Pascal?
QP: Oh yeah! Even getting out of the car, Sergey would say, "I will make Pascal pay for the beating you're putting me through!" I just bust out laughing. It's real animosity. He thinks Pascal is half-cocked because he has a couple of dollars. Sergey didn't care where we were fighting at. We could've been in the middle of the ocean and he's ready to knock somebody's head off. He doesn't like the guy because of some of things he tried to pull leading up to the fight. That boy is going to get hurt and probably get hurt bad. We went Rambo in camp. I see this fight ending in the 6th or 7th round. I think Pascal will gas out. He tells everybody that he's going to box Kovalev. Great, that works in our favor. Pascal can be dangerous because he punches wild, but I really think that Sergey is going to pace himself and take his time with the left hook or the straight right. Once he hits Pascal, I think the whole fight is going to change. Pascal hasn't really been hit to me. Bernard beat him up. Bute, well he's alright, but he ain't really been touched to me. But he's going to get touched this fight. I'm telling you, Sergey wants to hurt him.
JR. Being that you stated to me that Sergey is just an overall athlete, at any point in camp, did he appear to peak too soon?
QP: He did, actually. In the middle of the 2nd week, I felt like we were ahead of schedule. John would say, "Let's tone it down and do this!" Or his body would look scary fatigued and we would tell him, "You're going to rest today." Even when I would make him rest, he would still take his bike and go 10-15 miles around the lake near Big Bear. I'm one of those trainers that if you get there, I want to take you further. Let's just see how much you can dominate this guy, finish the fight, and not even be tired. One of my goals with him is to always finish the fight without him getting tired. Kind of like Mayweather, his cardio is phenomenal. I want Sergey like that and I think that is a testament of really training hard.
JR: I hear that Glazkov, who is fighting Steve Cunningham, had recently left John David Jackson due to him being busy with Sergey. Were you working with him as well?
QP: I wasn't working with him, but I know him. Me and him have had conversations together and that really wasn't the story when I talked to John about it. John said that he just upped and dipped. He felt like John was swaying this way and swaying that way. John takes out the normal amount of time and puts his effort into every fighter because he wants them all to be champions. You know, Glazkov used to be a personal trainer back in the day, so he knows how to condition his body. He was asking me a lot of questions when we first met at the Hopkins fight about how to take care of his core and his body and whatnot. I just felt he jumped ship and it wasn't John's fault. He just flipped the script and got a little big headed.
JR: Any other fighters that you're working with now?
QP: Nah, I think Sergey is going to try to keep me all to himself. I have had some B fighters approach me and had opportunities with other guys, but I'm loyal to Sergey right now. If he says it's cool, then it's cool to work with other people. I'm not going to let Sergey go just because it's some other names out there. I would like to work with other fighters and look forward to that opportunity if it ever happens.
JR: Do you have a website or e-mail that people can contact you at regarding your coaching services?
QP: People can e-mail me at quan.paxton@gmail.com or gogettaz@hotmail.com or gogettazco on facebook and instagram.
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