Badou Jack Wins By Majority Decision Over Noel Mikaelyan

Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelyan entered the ring in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, laying claim to the WBC cruiserweight championship after prolonged uncertainty in the division. Jack, the 41-year-old veteran based in Dubai, became WBC champion following his 2023 knockout of Ilunga Makabu, while Mikaelyan, the Armenian-born Miami resident, had also claimed the title by stopping Makabu later that year after Jack vacated the belt in pursuit of Bridgerweight honours. With Canadian contender Ryan Rozicki sidelined by injury, Mikaelyan stepped in on just three weeks’ notice to finally resolve the championship dispute with Jack, setting the stage for a tense and technical contest between two men who had not fought since their respective title wins.

After lengthy layoffs, the opening rounds were cautiously fought as both fighters sought to shake off ring rust. Jack, known for his measured approach and ring intelligence, established his jab early, probing for openings and using feints to keep Mikaelyan guessing. Jack landed a crisp right hand in the third round, his first significant punch of the bout. Still, Mikaelyan responded in the fourth by increasing his output, targeting Jack’s body with his right hand before looking to bring his attacks upstairs. The Armenian challenger, seven years Jack’s junior, pressed the action and attempted to use his height and reach advantages, standing two inches taller at 6’3” and boasting a two-inch reach edge.

As the middle rounds unfolded, Mikaelyan appeared to be gaining momentum, pushing Jack back and working the body to sap the older man’s stamina. However, Jack’s experience and composure under pressure quickly shifted the narrative in the sixth round. He landed three consecutive right hands, backing Mikaelyan to the ropes, and later in the round, hurt him with a sharp counter right. Mikaelyan’s confidence seemed to waver as he returned to his corner after the seventh, expressing concerns about his conditioning to trainer Don Charles. Nevertheless, he rallied in the eighth, working behind a busy jab and landing the cleaner punches to reassert himself in the contest.

Jack, a former super middleweight and light heavyweight world champion, leaned on his championship pedigree as the fight entered its later stages. He made the bout more physical, working inside and digging into Mikaelyan’s body, a tactic designed to slow the younger man’s output and sap his energy. The eighth round saw Jack land a heavy left hook at the bell after Mikaelyan missed wildly with his own hook. Still, Mikaelyan responded with two decisive moments in the ninth, keeping the fight finely balanced heading into the championship rounds.

The final rounds were attritional and scrappy, with both men showing signs of fatigue but refusing to yield. Mikaelyan continued to pump out his jab in bunches, often landing four or five at a time but struggled to set up his right hand with any real authority. Jack, meanwhile, remained efficient and selective, landing the more telling blows in close exchanges and capitalizing whenever Mikaelyan left openings during clinches. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the twelfth, Mikaelyan landed a left hook that threatened to turn the tide, but Jack weathered the moment and held his ground until the final bell.

The judges’ scorecards reflected the razor-thin margin between the two fighters. One judge scored the fight even at 114-114, while the other two awarded it to Jack by identical scores of 115-113, handing him a majority decision victory and settling the long-running dispute over the WBC cruiserweight title. Punch statistics underscored the nature of the contest: Mikaelyan threw nearly 300 more punches than Jack (670 to 369) but only landed 31 more (153 to Jack’s 122), highlighting Jack’s superior accuracy and efficiency. With the win, Jack improved his professional record to 29-3-3 (17 KOs), while Mikaelyan fell to 27-3 (12 KOs), suffering his first defeat since 2018.

In the aftermath, Jack’s attention now turns to mandatory challenger Ryan Rozicki, who is recovering from surgery and awaits his opportunity to challenge for the title. For Mikaelyan, the loss is a setback, but his spirited performance on short notice reaffirms his place among the division’s elite. Though not a classic in terms of sustained action, the bout was a fitting conclusion to the cruiserweight saga that had played out over the previous year, with Jack’s experience and ring craft ultimately proving decisive in a contest that could easily have gone the other way.