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The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Badou Jack vs Noel Mikaelian rematch ordered by WBC after appeal from Don King
A rematch has been ordered between WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelian, after an appeal by Don King Productions was upheld. Jack defeated Mikaelian via majority decision in May, on the undercard of Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez's win against William Scull, with some fans feeling that the result could have gone the other way. An appeal was made by Mikaelian's promoter, and has subsequently been 'granted' by the WBC. A statement from organisation read: 'The WBC Board of Governors has reviewed all the different matters pertaining to the Cruiserweight division and has finalized its voting process, which results in the following ruling. 'The WBC has granted the appeal presented by Don King Productions and is ordering a direct rematch between Badou Jack [and] Noel Mikaelyan. Free negotiations begin today (June 2nd), and if there is no agreement, a purse bid will take place July 1st, 2025.' There was further clarification of the cruiserweight landscape by the WBC, which outlined the status of its interim belt. Yamil Peralta and Ryan Rozicki had fought for the strap in December, only to draw and leave the title vacant. No 10-ranked Jean Pascal will face Michal Cieslak, rated fifth by the WBC, at the end of the month, with the winner facing WBC silver champ Peralta, who is ranked third at cruiserweight. Second-placed Rozicki remains injured, and so must provide an update to preserve his spot in the WBC's rating. The WBC's cruiserweight crown has been a point of contention for some time. Jack earned world-champion status at a third different weight in February 2023, defeating Ilunga Makabu with a 12th-round knockout. Makabu had been set to face Mikaelian, then holding the WBC silver title, in a mandatory defence, only for the bout to be postponed less than a month out from fight night. It was only a month later that Makabu would go on to fight Jack, losing in three rounds the belt he had held for nearly three years. In September 2023, Jack announced that he would challenge for a world title at bridgerweight, vacating and becoming champion in recess. Makabu was given a shot at regaining his belt against the new mandatory challenger, Mikaelian. However, the Armenian-German would produce a fourth-round stoppage to secure the vacant cruiserweight title and become a world champion for the first time. Mikaelian never got the chance to defend his belt inside the ring. A fight with Rozicki encountered many postponements due to injuries, before legal issues between Mikaelian and promoter King saw him withdraw from the fight entirely. At the end of 2024, with neither Jack nor Mikaelian fighting since their respective wins over Makabu, a decision was reached to reinstate the former as world champion, dropping the latter to champion in recess. Ironically, an injury to Rozicki enabled Mikaelian to get a shot at reinstated champion Jack.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WBC orders Badou Jack vs. Noel Mikaelyan immediate title rematch after controversial decision
Badou Jack (left) and Norair Mikaeljan are going to have to run it back. () The WBC ordered an immediate rematch between Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelyan for Jack's cruiserweight championship on Monday afternoon, after a successful appeal from Mikaelyan's promoter, Don King Productions. If the pair is unable to reach a deal for their ordered title bout, a purse bid hearing will commence on July 1. Advertisement Jack won a controversial majority decision (114-114, 115-113, 115-113) over Mikaelyan on the Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. William Scull undercard in Riyadh this past month. Mikaelyan out-landed Jack 153 to 122 in total punches over 12 rounds. DAZN's Chris Mannix on the live broadcast had Mikaelyan in front — as did Uncrowned's unofficial scorecard and the majority of viewers at home — however the judges decided differently at the conclusion of 36 minutes. This led to Mikaelyan and his team filing an appeal with the WBC over the decision — and in a rare move, the WBC granted the request for an immediate rematch. Advertisement Mikaelyan (27-3, 12 KOs), who stepped in on three weeks' notice to replace the injured Ryan Rozicki, has been on the wrong end of debatable decisions before. The Armenian-born German fighter lost a controversial split decision to Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in 2017, and his efforts were grossly under-appreciated in a unanimous decision defeat to Mairis Briedis the following year. Mikaelyan stopped Ilunga Junior Makabu in three rounds to capture the WBC cruiserweight crown in November 2023 but was stripped of the belt after a promotional dispute with Don King. This led to the WBC reinstating Jack (29-3-3, 17 KOs), the champion in recess at the time, as the full champion. When Mikaelyan stepped in to replace Rozicki and face Jack in May, a saga spanning two years at cruiserweight seemed like it was finally reaching a conclusion. But now with the WBC's ruling, there will inevitably be even more holdups to unification bouts being made involving the WBC cruiserweight title.
