By Keith Idec

Jean Pascal recognizes his place in his fight against Eleider Alvarez on Saturday night.

Though only one year younger than Pascal, Alvarez is typically perceived as the fresher fighter, the light heavyweight contender from Quebec capable of knocking off WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. Pascal’s supposed role in their 12-round light heavyweight fight is that of a faded former champion who’ll serve as another impressive conquest on Alvarez’s record.

The 33-year-old Alvarez (22-0, 11 KOs) knocked out former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (32-5, 25 KOs) in the fifth round of his last fight, February 24 at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada. Pascal, 34, hasn’t produced a decisive victory over a light heavyweight contender since he beat Bute by unanimous decision in their 12-round fight three years ago at Bell Centre in Montreal.

The native Haitian also has been stopped twice by Russian knockout artist Sergey Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) since he defeated Bute. Those are among the reasons Alvarez, Pascal’s former sparring partner, is more than a 4-1 favorite over him entering their 12-round fight at Bell Centre.

For Pascal (31-4-1, 18 KOs, 1 NC), it isn’t just a chance to secure a mandatory shot at Stevenson (28-1, 23 KOs), who’ll oppose Polish contender Andrzej Fonfara (29-4, 17 KOs, 1 NC) in the 12-round main event Saturday night (Showtime; 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).  It’s an opportunity to prove that he’s still a championship-caliber boxer.

“Honestly, I wanna prove to people that I still have it because I know I still have it,” Pascal told BoxingScene.com. My tank is not empty. My tank is still full. I know I’m getting older. I’m 34, but I’ve been eating right, I’ve been training right and I just wanna be back on top.”

Pascal, of Laval, Quebec, was impressed by how the Colombian-born Alvarez battered Bute.

“Honestly, he did very well,” Pascal said. “He did a better job than me because he knocked out Bute. I knocked down Bute, but I didn’t knock him out. But maybe that wasn’t my plan, to knock him out. Maybe that was his plan, to knock him out. Also, he didn’t face the same Bute that I faced. But if we see only the result, he did a better job. So he’s the favorite. I have no problem with that. I’m just gonna have to prove to people that I’m still there, and that I’ve still earned my place on the top.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.