Fightnews met up with WBC light-heavyweight champion Jean Pascal as he put the finishing touches on his preparations for this Saturday’s showdown with undefeated Chad Dawson. Pascal will be making the third defense of his title belt that he wrestled away from fellow Montrealer Adrian Diaconu in 2009. Pascal again beat Diaconu in his last fight in December and did so with one arm, separating his shoulder in the third round. Pascal talks about his thoughts on the fight that brings HBO Championship boxing into town for the very first time and assures us that he is 100 percent ready for Saturday.

Fightnews: HBO is already talking about a match-up between Tavoris Cloud and Chad Dawson, do feel that you’re opponent might be taking you lightly heading into Saturday night as your name might not be as big as some of the names he has beaten in the past?

Pascal: He might think that, but I’m pretty sure they’re pretty focused about me because I know Chad Dawson has a great team behind him and I know he was working hard in the gym and will be well prepared for the fight.

Fightnews: Dawson has been knocked down a number of times in the past, do you feel this is something you can exploit come Saturday night?

Pascal: Boxing is boxing. You can be knocked down, knocked out, this is part of boxing. But the thing is, even if he was knocked down, he got up and won every fight he was knocked down in. He is a great champion and he has a great chin so I’m not going to try to knock him out but I am going to put a lot of pressure on him.

Fightnews: Describe some of your preparation coming into this fight.

Pascal: My training camp went really well. I went to Columbia, I went to D.R., Dominican Republic, I went to Miami and I trained hard. Everything was perfect. I had great sparring partners, great time, and I’m ready to fight.

Fightnews: Is the shoulder still an issue, how did it survive the camp?

Pascal: Shoulder is not an issue, I was training to my full capacity and the shoulder did not bug me at all.

Fightnews: Do you feel that your shoulder and some of the injuries you’ve suffered in the past will be the only thing that holds you back in this fight and the future?

Pascal: Boxing is combat. It is a war. You never know if you’ll come back and you never know what is going to happen. So I’m not going to worry about that, I’m going there and I think I’m going to come back, I’m going to survive, and I’m going to win the fight., so the shoulder is not in my mind at all.

Fightnews: Any predictions for Saturday?

Pascal: We’re going to have a great show, a great fight, so be there!