If Jake Paul is going to challenge Badou Jack for a world title, it won’t be until after Noel Mikaelyan faces Jack for a second time.
Don King Productions, which promotes Mikaelyan, issued a press release saying that they were “denying Jake Paul’s request” for Mikaelyan to step aside.
It’s unclear whether Paul’s team officially requested this of Mikaelyan and King. But Nakisa Bidarian, who runs Most Valuable Promotions alongside Paul, recently discussed their desire for a Jack fight on an episode of The Ariel Helwani Show.
“Jake wants to fight for a belt as soon as possible,” Bidarian said. “I think it’s tough this year, ’cause Badou Jack, who’s who he wants to fight more so than anyone, has a mandatory rematch with the guy he just beat for the WBC.”
Jack stopped Ilunga Makabu in February 2023 to capture the WBC cruiserweight title. He went more than two years without defending it and was named “champion in recess” as he pondered a move to the bridgerweight division.
Mikaelyan won the vacant WBC title in November 2023 with a third-round TKO of Makabu. But Mikaelyan was unable to defend against Ryan Rozicki in 2024, and Jack, who hadn’t fought since, wanted to return to the ring. So Mikaelyan and Jack changed places, Jack being reinstated as the WBC titleholder while Mikaelyan became the “champion in recess.”
Jack vs. Rozicki was originally supposed to be part of the May 3 undercard to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. William Scull. When Rozicki got injured in training camp, Mikaelyan stepped in.
Jack outpointed Mikaelyan via narrow majority decision – 115-113 on two scorecards, 114-114 on the third. Mikaelyan’s team successfully appealed to the WBC, which ordered an immediate rematch. A purse bid is scheduled for July 15.
Meanwhile, Michal Cieslak scored a fourth-round TKO over Jean Pascal in June for the WBC’s vacant interim cruiserweight title. He won’t move immediately toward a fight with the winner of Jack-Mikaelyan II. Instead, the WBC has mandated that Cieslak must first face Yamil Peralta.
“The WBC wouldn’t even be able [to] sanction the matchup [with Badou Jack], as Paul is not currently ranked by the WBC,” said Don King’s press release.
For now. The WBC could always insert Paul into its rankings. But there is another potential route for Paul to get a title shot.
Paul recently entered the WBA’s cruiserweight rankings at No. 14 after his decision win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr. The unified WBA and WBO titleholder is Gilberto Ramirez, who outpointed Yuniel Dorticos on the Paul-Chavez undercard.
However, the outcry over Paul’s ranking led the sanctioning body to say it would review its decision during its next convention, which is scheduled for July 15-18, according to Ring Magazine.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
