Badou Jack didn’t even have to enter the ring to regain his title.

The three-division beltholder was reinstated as WBC cruiserweight titlist, as ruled Wednesday during the sanctioning body’s annual convention in Hamburg, Germany. Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) essentially traded places with Noel Mikaelyan (27-2, 12 KOs), who was downgraded to ‘Champion in Recess.’

Both fighters have been inactive long enough to have been dropped from The Ring top ten cruiserweight ratings.

Jack has not fought since a Feb. 2023 12th-round stoppage of Junior Makabu in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. The feat saw the Sweden-born, Dubai based boxer claim the WBC cruiserweight title, which he was never able to defend. He eventually gave up the belt in exchange for ‘Champion in Recess’ status, given his plans to pursue a bridgerweight belt. That career path never materialized.

Mikaelyan claimed the vacant WBC strap in a third-round stoppage of Makabu last Nov. 4 in Miami, Florida.

Just like Jack, he failed to defend the belt or make it back into the ring. Mikaelyan’s situation is different, as it largely involves an ongoing legal dispute with Hall of Fame promoter Don King.

It prevented him from honoring an overdue mandatory title defense versus Ryan Rozicki (20-1-1, 19 KOs), The Ring No. 7 cruiserweight. Their ordered bout was postponed four times and canceled outright when Mikaelyan’s team confirmed his predicament.

Rozicki was permitted to face Yamil Peralta (17-1-1, 9 KOs) in a rematch for the interim WBC title last Saturday in Rozicki’s hometown of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their twelve-round sequel ended in a majority draw, though many felt Rozicki deserved the nod.

Despite failing to get the win, Rozicki still maintained his mandatory position. He will now get to challenge Jack, as the WBC ordered the two camps to begin talks.

“We are very pleased with the WBC’s resolution,” Daniel Otter, Rozicki’s promoter and head of Three Lions Promotions, told The Ring. “We will be looking for a date early in 2025.

“This is a great fight and Ryan is ready to become WBC champion.”

Jack previously reigned at super middleweight and light heavyweight. The 41-year-old is 3-0-2 (1 KO) in primary title fights and has won six in a row.

Rozicki will enter his second career title fight. His lone defeat came to Oscar Rivas in the inaugural WBC bridgerweight title fight. Rivas won their Oct. 2021 slugfest via unanimous decision. Rozicki is unbeaten in eight subsequent starts.