Light-heavyweight champion boxer Jean Pascal of Laval was arrested in downtown Montreal early Friday morning for refusing to take a breathalyzer.
Montreal police confirmed a 40-year-old male was pulled over at 3:35 a.m. for making an illegal turn on a red light at the corner of Ste-Catherine St. and Metcalfe Sts. Suspecting the driver could be impaired because they smelled alcohol, they asked him to do a breathalyzer test, which he refused.
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Police would not release the identity of the driver because he had not yet been charged. Pascal released a tweet confirming his arrest for refusing to provide a sample soon after the event.
Rectification: J’ai été arrêté pour refus de fournir un échantillon à l’aide de l’ADA. J’ai rencontré mon avocate Me. Sophie Beauvais qui me recommande de n’émettre aucun commentaire en raison d’un possible processus judiciaire. Merci de respecter ma position.
— Jean Pascal (@jeanpascalchamp) November 25, 2022
A few hours after the arrest, Pascal tweeted “Justice for visible minorities!!!”
Pascal was the former WBC and WBA light-heavyweight champion of the world who last successfully defended his title in December 2019 against Jack Badou. A rematch scheduled for June 2021 was cancelled when Pascal failed random anti-doping tests for three banned substances.
Pascal was born in Haiti and moved to Laval as a child. In 2020, the Montreal Gazette reported that a “toned-down lifestyle” had led to his resurgence as a boxer at the age of 37.
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Dealt with racism my whole life, Laval boxing champ Jean Pascal says
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Toned-down lifestyle has led to Jean Pascal's boxing resurgence at 37