Former two-division world champion Badou Jack will challenge Ilunga Makabu for his WBC cruiserweight title on February 26th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s unclear why the 39-year-old Badou (27-3-3, 16 KOs) is getting a title shot against the 35-year-old Makabu (29-2, 25 KOs), as he’s not beaten anyone of note for many years, and there are arguably far more talented & younger contenders in the World Boxing Council’s top 15 rankings that are more deserving of a fight for the WBC cruiserweight belt. The WBC shockingly has Badou ranked #3, ahead of these contenders: Richard Riakporhe Sergey Kovalev Chris BIllam-Smith Ryan Rozicki Yuniel Dorticos.
Makabu is a mediocre champion who captured his WBC cruiserweight title three years ago, beating Micha? Cie?lak by a 12 round unanimous decision. Since then, Makabu has milked his WBC belt, successfully defending it against 42-year-old Olanrewaju Durodola and Thabiso Mchunu.
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