Badou Jack Edges Norair Mikaelian in Grueling Cruiserweight Battle on Canelo-Scull Undercard
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 04 May 2025
In a tactical and hard-fought WBC cruiserweight title bout, Badou Jack (29-3-3, 17 KOs) narrowly outpointed Norair Mikaelian (27-3, 12 KOs) by majority decision in the co-main event of the Canelo Álvarez vs. John Scull card at Kingdom Arena Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The judges scored the fight 115-113 (Pablo Gonzalez), 114-114 (Nobuto Ikehara), and 115-113 (Jose Manzur) in favor of Jack, who retained his WBC cruiserweight title in a fight that saw both men struggle to impose dominance.
The early rounds were cautious, with both fighters probing with jabs and hesitant to commit to power shots. Mikaelian, the Armenian challenger, found slight success with right hands and body flurries, while Jack relied on his experience and counterpunching.
The fight picked up in Round 3, with Mikaelian increasing his volume, landing sharp right hands and body combinations. Jack responded with well-timed counters, but Mikaelian’s activity gave him the edge in the early going.
By the middle rounds, The Sweden-born Jack, clearly the crowd favorite as he established his residence in nearby Dubai, began digging to Mikaelian’s body, slowing down the challenger and forcing him into defensive shelling. The fight turned into a rough, clinch-heavy affair, with both men engaging in dirty boxing and late shots after the bell.
Round 8 saw Jack take control, landing clean right hands as Mikaelian’s output dipped. The champion also capitalized on Mikaelian’s reluctance to engage, smothering him in clinches and landing short hooks inside.
The championship rounds saw Mikaelian rally, landing sharp flurries in Round 12 that had Jack momentarily on the defensive. However, Jack’s experience and ring generalship proved decisive, as he stole key moments with well-placed counters.
A low blow from Jack in Round 11 drew a warning from referee Héctor Afu, but it wasn’t enough to sway the judges, who ultimately favored the champion’s slightly cleaner work.
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