Purse bid heads will wake up to devastating news.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed that the respective teams for Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelyan have reached a deal to move forward with their ordered cruiserweight title fight rematch. A purse bid hearing previously scheduled for Tuesday was canceled, as a result of the development.
“The WBC has been notified that an agreement has been reached for the rematch between Cruiserweight champion Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelyan,” Sulaiman informed BoxingScene and other media members via WhatsApp on Monday. “Consequently, the purse offer scheduled for [Tuesday] is hereby cancelled.”
News of the two sides agreeing to terms comes as it was revealed by Don King Productions, Mikaelyan’s promoter, that their side rejected a step-aside offer that would have seen Jake Paul instead challenge for Jack’s WBC 200lbs crown.
A Jack-Paul matchup would have been easy to make from a negotiating standpoint. However, one other hurdle existed at the moment – Paul is not rated by the WBC at cruiserweight. The social media influencer-turned-contender and promoter recently cracked the WBA top 15 but has not expressed much interest in challenging unified WBA/WBO titlist Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
It’s a moot point, as Mikaelyan, 27-3 (12 KOs) – an Armenian boxer based in South Florida – was already awarded an immediate rematch with Jack, 29-3-3 (17 KOs).
The two met on a May 4 Riyadh Season show at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Jack retained the title that previously belonged to Mikaelyan with a majority decision win. Many viewers felt Mikaelyan deserved the nod in a fight he accepted on short notice.
Jack was originally due to defend against mandatory challenger Ryan Rozicki, 20-1-1 (19 KOs), who suffered a biceps tear and was forced to withdraw. Mikaelyan agreed to take his place, canceling his own plans for a previously announced return later that month in South Florida.
While not rewarded by the judges, Mikaelyan was given fair treatment by the WBC who granted an appeal filed by its former cruiserweight titlist.
Mikaelyan is now afforded a full camp for the opportunity to regain the title he held from November 2023 through last December.
A legal dispute with Hall of Fame promoter Don King put Mikaelyan on the shelf, which prompted the WBC to downgrade him to ‘Champion in Recess.’
Mikaelyan actually won and lost the title in the same fashion as was the case for Jack’s first reign at the weight.
Jack – a 2008 Olympian for Sweden who is now based in Dubai – won the WBC 200lbs belt in a February 2023 12th-round knockout win over Ilunga “Junior” Makabu. He then opted to campaign at bridgerweight, in lieu of a mandatory title defense against Mikaelyan. Jack agreed to vacate in exchange for a direct shot at the WBC bridgerweight belt, which never materialized.
Mikaelyan won the vacant belt in a third-round knockout of Makabu atop a November 2023 card in his adopted hometown of Miami. Like his predecessor, Mikaeylan’s reign also ended without a single defense, though one was scheduled – several times over. He was due to face Rozicki in a mandatory title defense but repeatedly postponed due to an assortment of issues.
It ultimately came out that Mikaelyan was in litigation with King, at which point the WBC had him swap places with Jack and assume the champion in recess tag.
Jack previously held titles at super middleweight and light heavyweight. His reinstatement as WBC cruiserweight titlist initially came with the condition that he next face Rozicki.
The matter went to a purse bid hearing, which was won by Three Lions Promotions and originally budgeted for a late April date in Rozicki’s hometown of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Turki Alalshikh – head of Riyadh Season – intervened on behalf of Jack and added a six-figure sum to the total pot to relocate the fight to Riyadh.
Details of when and where the rematch will take place were not confirmed as this goes to publication.
