A rematch between WBC cruiserweight king Badou Jack and challenger Noel Mikaelian has been agreed upon by both teams. The official purse bid was set to take place today, but it is now null and void as representatives from the respective parties are aligned on the next move. The date and venue are expected to be announced in due course.
Mikaelian was left aggrieved by the majority decision dished out in Jack’s favour after their first meeting, on the Canelo-William Scull undercard on May 3. That Riyadh bout seemed like a close-run affair. In early June, the WBC agreed that there was cause for a rematch, ordering the 200-pound pair to run it back.
Mikaelian cited a lack of preparation time, plus other changes around fight night, had hindered his ability to perform. The WBC cruiserweight situation has been a little messy of late. Ryan Rozicki was in line for that May shot before injury opened the door for Mikaelian. Since then, Michal Cieslak has travelled to Canada to win the Interim title by knocking out Jean Pascal.
In the meantime, there was a suggestion that Jake Paul, last seen beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, could be getting the surprise call for a world title tilt. Veteran promoter Don King, who represents Mikaelian, was having none of it and released a statement to reinforce his stance:
“Don King Productions is denying Jake Paul’s request for former WBC Cruiserweight World Champion Noel Mikaelian to step aside from his world title rematch against Badou Jack, the current WBC Cruiserweight World Champion. The Hall of Fame promoter King said the WBC wouldn’t even be able to sanction the matchup as Paul is not currently ranked by the WBC.”
Elsewhere in the cruiserweight division, Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez holds two of the belts, while Jai Opetaia is the IBF champion. It is hoped that a three-belt unification can be agreed to tidy things up. The winner would then naturally turn to Jack, or whoever else holds the WBC belt by that point, to secure full undisputed status.
