Badou Jack

Badou Jack achieved the history he set out to make from the moment he accepted this fight. Precision power punching went a long way toward Jack becoming a ...

Makabu attempted to pick up the pace in round nine while Jack reserved his strength for the back half of the frame. Makabu threw and landed more punches (242-of-845 compared to 231-of-571 for Jack) according to Compubox, but Jack landed at a significantly higher percentage (40.5% to 28.6.% for Makabu). A right hand sent Makabu to the ropes, with an ensuing flurry of power shots forcing the stoppage. Jack also connected with an overhand right, followed by a left hook and right uppercut while Makabu was unable to offer anything in return. He reverted to orthodox once Makabu clocked him with a right hook, responding with two straight right hands along of his own inside the final minute. Jack added to his early lead in a big way with the bout’s knockdown. A straight right hand by the 39-year-old challenger briefly froze Makabu in place in the latter half of round seven. Makabu was down in rounds four and eleven, before a final flurry by Jack forced referee Mark Lyson to halt the contest at 54 seconds of round twelve. The defending titleholder from South Africa by the way of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo landed several left hands to the body, then later came back with a right hook over the top. The 39-year-old Jack became the first Muslim boxer to win a major title in Saudi Arabia with the incredible performance after having previously won the WBC super middleweight and WBA light heavyweight titles on U.S. Jack managed to find his desired spacing even in a tiny 18-foot ring, using subtle lateral movement to disallow Makabu from ever setting his feet. Jack ended the three-year WBC cruiserweight title reign of Makabu with the win in the ESPN+ Pay-Per-View co-feature Sunday evening from Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.