Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) is now a three-division world champion. The 39-year-old scored a technical knockout victory over Ilunga Makabu (29-3, 25 KOs) to capture the WBC cruiserweight world title.
Jack boxed an intelligent fight, mixing footwork and counterpunching to consistently find a home for his right hand. Makabu, on the other hand, seemed too cautious and had trouble putting his punches together.
In the fourth round, Jack dropped Makabu with a right hand, and he repeated the knockdown in the 11th. In the final round, Makabu was clearly worn out from Jack’s offense, and Swedish standout only needed an additional right hand and a brief fusillade of shots to force referee Mark Lyson to stop the fight at :54.
Jack said, “I was standing there too much. My trainer told me to box and move. That’s not really my style. I mean, I box. But I also like to come forward and fight. Makabu is a hell of a fighter. He’s an African brother of mine. We used to be training partners. He is still my brother.”
Welterweights: Ziyad Almaayouf (2-0, 1 KO) overcame a first-round knockdown before defeating Ronnald Martinez (3-2-1) via unanimous decision. Almaayouf began the fight aggressively and was dropped by a hard right hand before the first round ended. However, the native of Saudi Arabia kept his composure and dominated the following rounds. Scores: 38-37 3x.
Cruiserweights: Muhsin Cason (11-0, 8 KOs) scored a first-round stoppage over Taryel Jafarov (18-6, 17 KOs). Cason dropped Jafarov before the opening round ended, but Jafarov’s corner stopped the fight before the second round to prevent further punishment.
Junior Welterweights: Bader Samreen (8-0, 7 KOs) defeated Viorel Simion (23-10, 9 KOs) via first-round TKO. Time of stoppage: 1:26.
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