Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelyan each came into Riyadh with a claim to the WBC cruiserweight title and a desire to settle that dispute. In the end, Jack got the nod.

The 41-year-old Dubai-based Swiss fighter eked out the majority decision win over Mikaelyan by scores of 115-113 on two cards, with one judge scoring it 114-114.

Jack raised his record to 29-3-3 (17 KOs), while Mikaelyan dropped to 27-3 (12 KOs), losing for the first time since his 2018 decision defeat to Mairis Briedis.

Jack hadn’t fought since winning the title in February 2023, when he knocked out Ilunga Makabu in the 12th and final round. Mikaelyan hadn’t fought since nearly the same time, when he knocked out Makabu later that year, winning the belt that Jack had vacated in a plan to move up and capture the newly created “bridgerweight” title, only for Jack to reassert his claim to the title and Mikaelyan to be named “champion in recess” instead. 

Adding to the confusion is the fact that Canadian Ryan Rozicki is the mandatory challenger for the belt and had seen at least five cancellations of a fight with Mikaelyan come and go.

Rozicki was finally about to settle his claim with the belt in a fight against Jack, only to withdraw due to a biceps injury. On only three weeks’ notice, Mikaelyan stepped in to settle his business with Jack.

Jack was patient from the outset, using his jab and feints in the early rounds before making his first big impression in the third round with a right hand. Mikaelyan took a cue from Jack in the fourth, using right hands to the body to set up right hands to the head of his own. 

Mikaelyan, a Miami-based native of Armenia, used his seven years’ youth advantage to push the pace in the fourth, trying to back up Jack and work the body to slow the older fighter down.

Just as Mikaelyan began to take control of the fight, Jack came roaring back in the sixth, landing three straight right hands to back Mikaelyan to the ropes, and then hurting him later in the round with a counter right.

Mikaelyan began to express doubt about his conditioning after the seventh round while conversing with his trainer, veteran Don Charles, who advised him to dig deep and protect himself better in close. Mikaelyan responded with a strong eighth round, working mostly with his jab to establish range and land the clearer punches.

Jack, who had previously been a WBC super middleweight and WBA light heavyweight titleholder, showed his experience as the fight continued on, dropping his head and digging to the body inside and making the fight more physical than Mikaelyan would have wanted.

The punch stats demonstrated Jack’s efficiency, as he was credited with landing 122 of 369 attempts, while Mikaelyan  attempted about 300 more at 670, and landed just 31 more for a total of 153.

With a win over Mikaelyan on his record, Jack now turns his attention to Rozicki, who is recovering from surgery.