AN injury to mandatory challenger Ryan Rozicki has left WBC world cruiserweight champion Badou Jack scratching around for a replacement opponent.
The pair were supposed to square off on May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, featuring on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull.
But now, it would appear that WBC ‘champion in recess’ Noel Mikaelian has emerged as a frontrunner to face Jack, 28-3-3 (17 KOs), on less than a months’ notice.
Since claiming his green and gold strap and, in turn, becoming a three-division world champion, Jack has remained out of the ring for more than two years.
Soon after ‘The Ripper’ secured a 12th-round stoppage victory over Ilunga Makabu in 2023, Mikaelian, 27-2 (12 KOs), then halted the same Congolese opponent to capture the full WBC title at 200lbs.
A contractual dispute with notorious promoter Don King, however, forced the 34-year-old to swap places with Jack as the sanctioning body’s ‘champion in recess.’
With the WBC cruiserweight situation remaining far from straight forward, Jack was then reinstated as the full champion ahead of his scheduled showdown with Rozicki.
Mikaelian, meanwhile, has a fight lined up against Isaiah Thompson on May 17, with their bout set to headline a Don King Productions card in Miami, Florida.
But instead, it would seem that Mikaelian is now likely to replace Rozicki in a bid to regain his WBC title against Jack.
With their relationship seemingly returning to a more amicable state of affairs, the Armenian’s promoter, King, remains confident that a deal can be reached.
“We just heard the news and our champion in recess, Noel Mikaelian, is ready, willing and able to step in for Rozicki and fight Jack for the title,” the veteran promoter said in a press release. “We are in the process of negotiating a deal.”
