Photo: Leigh Dawney/QueensberryThere could be a sequel between WBC cruiserweight titleholder Badou Jack and a man who formerly held that belt, Noel Mikaelyan.
Jack outpointed Mikaelyan via narrow majority decision – 115-113 on two scorecards, 114-114 on the third – on May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the undercard of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s win over William Scull.
But Mikaelyan’s team successfully appealed to the WBC, which announced on June 2 that it is ordering an immediate rematch. This news was first reported by Darshan Desai of Yahoo! Sports’ Uncrowned.
Jack, now 29-3-3 (17 KOs), and Mikaelyan, 27-3 (12 KOs), have about a month to reach an agreement. If they are unable to do so, the WBC will hold a purse bid on July 1.
In the meantime, the WBC also affirmed that Jean Pascal-Michal Cieslak will go forward on June 28 for its vacant interim cruiserweight title. But the winner of Pascal-Cieslak won’t move immediately toward a fight with the winner of Jack-Mikaelyan II. Instead, the winner of Pascal-Cieslak must first face Yamil Peralta.
Jack previously held a super middleweight title and a secondary belt at light heavyweight before stopping Ilunga Makabu in the 12th round of their February 2023 fight to capture the WBC’s cruiserweight title.
Jack, now 41 years old, went more than two years without defending it, however – and without fighting altogether. Instead, he was named “champion in recess” as he pondered a move to the bridgerweight division.
Mikaelyan, 34, won the vacant WBC title in November 2023 with a third-round TKO of Makabu. But he was unable to defend against Rozicki in 2024, and Jack wanted to return to the ring. So Mikaelyan and Jack changed places, Jack being reinstated while Mikaelyan became the “champion in recess.”
The May 3 show was originally supposed to feature Jack defending against Ryan Rozicki. When Rozicki got injured in training camp, Mikaelyan stepped in.
The WBC has asked Ryan Rozicki for a medical update on the injury that forced him out of that fight.
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.
