Less than two months ago Badou ‘The Ripper’ Jack claimed the WBC Cruiserweight world title in a commanding performance over the reigning champion Ilunga Junior Makabu in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
Jack (28-3-2, 17 KOs) looked impressive scoring a 12th round knockout over Makabu, dropping the Congolese man in rounds 4 and 11 on way to the stoppage victory.
“It was a good performance.” Jack said. “I knew he was a big strong guy who was going to bring a lot of pressure. I believed in myself despite people saying that I am too small, I just know I had what it takes to beat him."
Jack has somewhat reinvented himself over the past years. 2019 saw The Ripper receive back-to-back defeats against Marcus Browne and Jean Pascal, many called it the end. However, Jack found pastures new in the Middle East.
“Right now, I’m in Dubai. I just signed with Skill Challenge Entertainment.” Jack continued. “It looks like most of my fights will happen here now or in this region. I was actually going back-and-forth between here and America since 2017. I promoted my own show over here in that time too under Badou Jack Promotions. We have just been building and building from there.
“I actually moved here in 2019. Then I went back to Las Vegas for a year, the following September I moved here for good. We love it here, it’s a safe country. Great for the kids, lots for them to do. We are in the middle of the world, close to Europe, close to Africa and close to everything. Yeah, I really love it out here. At first it just wasn’t the right time, I was still signed with Floyd [Mayweather Jr] and I had a world title fight coming up. But the first time I came, I knew I wanted to move here.”
The cruiserweight world titles lay spread across the globe. Jai Opetaia, Lawrence Okolie and Arsen Goulamirian all provide unification opportunities. However, Jack’s eyes are wandering elsewhere.
“We have a lot of options right now, I’m a three division champion. I would say I’m the biggest name out of all the champions right now. I’ve got more experience than all these guys. Opetaia looks pretty good from the clips I’ve seen, but all the other guys I don’t really know much about them. I should be back in September or October.”
