Gambian-Swedish boxer Badou Jack pulled off a stunning victory over Ilunga Makabu to become the new WBC cruiserweight world champion on Sunday night. 

Jack, who was accompanied to the ring by Mike Tyson, is now a two-weight world champion after previously fighting at super-middleweight and light-heavyweight.

In a back-and-forth affair on the undercard of Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury, Jack made himself a constant nuisance for Makabu, the WBC champion who won the belt in 2020.  

After a fairly even opening few rounds, in the fourth, Makabu found himself on the canvas following a heavy jab from Jack, though he made it back to his feet.

Despite being 39 years old, Jack was in good form as his opponent struggled to keep up with his pace. 

In round eleven, Makabu found himself down once again. 

Somehow, Makabu made it to the end of the round, but that did not matter, as in round twelve Jack unleashed a barrage of punches and the referee stepped in to wave off the contest.

After the fight, it was nothing but respect between the two boxers, as new champion Jack said: “I was standing there too much and my trainer told me to box and move but I like to come forward and fight.

“Me and Makabu used to train together and he is still my brother.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Please disable your adblocker and support our journalism. Thank you.