Boxing Coverage on Sherdog.comSteve Bosse-Jean Pascal in Jeopardy, Authorities Investigate Possible Organized Crime Connection
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran and former hockey
enforcer Steve Bosse
is looking to follow Conor
McGregor’s lead into a crossover boxing match, but a criminal
investigation into Bosse and his manager has put his bout against
former boxing champion Jean Pascal into serious jeopardy.
Bosse and Pascal had agreed to a 12-round affair scheduled for July 20. However, a recent social media post by Bosse suggests that his license to box is now uncertain as an authorities investigate his possible involvement with organized crime in his native Quebec:
Bosse won his boxing debut with a second-round knockout over Julio Cuello Cabrera in February, but authorities in Quebec began investigating Bosse and his manager David Fontaine’s connection to “criminal elements” in Montreal sometime after his debut.
Bosse and Pascal are major combat sports stars in Quebec. The 36 year-old Bosse (12-2 in MMA; 1-0 in boxing) retired from MMA in 2016 after a 2-1 UFC run that included bonus-winning performances against Sean O'Connell and James Te Huna. Pascal (32-5-1) is a former WBC, IBO and Ring Magazine lineal light heavyweight champion, holding those titles from 2009 to 2011. As an amateur, the Haitian-Canadian represented Canada as a middleweight in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, as well as winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2002.
“The Boss” claims that he doesn’t need to fight or box professionally anymore, as the French-Canadian works full-time as a firefighter and owns his own woodcutting company. Meanwhile, the 35 year-old former boxing champion, who hung up the gloves last December, was lured out of that brief retirement after a social media campaign by Bosse to put together an all-Canadian crossover superfight with him.
Bosse has maintained his complete innocence; it remains to be seen whether he will receive his boxing license in time to fight Pascal on July 20.
Bosse and Pascal had agreed to a 12-round affair scheduled for July 20. However, a recent social media post by Bosse suggests that his license to box is now uncertain as an authorities investigate his possible involvement with organized crime in his native Quebec:
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Bosse won his boxing debut with a second-round knockout over Julio Cuello Cabrera in February, but authorities in Quebec began investigating Bosse and his manager David Fontaine’s connection to “criminal elements” in Montreal sometime after his debut.
Bosse and Pascal are major combat sports stars in Quebec. The 36 year-old Bosse (12-2 in MMA; 1-0 in boxing) retired from MMA in 2016 after a 2-1 UFC run that included bonus-winning performances against Sean O'Connell and James Te Huna. Pascal (32-5-1) is a former WBC, IBO and Ring Magazine lineal light heavyweight champion, holding those titles from 2009 to 2011. As an amateur, the Haitian-Canadian represented Canada as a middleweight in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, as well as winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2002.
“The Boss” claims that he doesn’t need to fight or box professionally anymore, as the French-Canadian works full-time as a firefighter and owns his own woodcutting company. Meanwhile, the 35 year-old former boxing champion, who hung up the gloves last December, was lured out of that brief retirement after a social media campaign by Bosse to put together an all-Canadian crossover superfight with him.
Bosse has maintained his complete innocence; it remains to be seen whether he will receive his boxing license in time to fight Pascal on July 20.
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