No purse bid will be needed to set up the rematch between
Badou Jack and
Noel Mikaelyan.WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said that Jack, the WBC cruiserweight champion, and Mikaelyan reached a deal Monday for a rematch for their ordered bout by the sanctioning body. As a result, the previously scheduled purse bid Tuesday was cancelled.
“The WBC has been notified that an agreement has been reached for the rematch between Cruiserweight champion Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelyan,” Sulaiman said via WhatsApp on Monday. “Consequently, the purse offer scheduled for [Tuesday] is hereby cancelled.”
Jack (29-3-3, 17 KOs) and Mikaelyan first fought May 3 on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the champion prevailing with a
controversial majority decision victory. Judge Nobuto Ikehara scored the bout 114-114, but was overruled by judges Pablo Gonzalez and Jose Manzur, who had it 115-113 for the 41-year-old titleholder.
The win extended Jack’s streak to seven. Jack, who held the WBC title at super middleweight, is 7-0 with four KOs as a cruiserweight.
Mikaelyan (27-3, 12 KOs), the former WBC cruiserweight champion who was named the champion in recess after a lengthy dispute with promoter Don King, was a late replacement for Ryan Rozicki,
who withdrew from the bout due to a torn biceps. Mikaelyan, 34, hadn’t fought since Nov. 4, 2023, when he first won the vacant WBC cruiserweight title with a third-round stoppage of Ilunga Junior Makabu.