In a rematch of their May 3 skirmish in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Noel Mikaelian turned the tables on Badou Jack, winning a unanimous decision to regain the WBC world cruiserweight title that he once held. The judges had it 115-111 and 116-110 twice.<\/p>\n
The match, promoted by Bash Promotions at a new TV and cinema production studio in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles, was a messy affair marred by excessive clinching. Both fighters had a point deducted by veteran SoCal referee Jerry Cantu who announced before the match that this would be his final fight. Mikaelian lost a point for rabbit punching; Jack for hitting on the break. Very few punches by either man landed cleanly.<\/p>\n
In their first meeting, Badou Jack won the final two rounds on all three cards to eke out a razor-thin and mildly controversial decision. Tonight, the situation was reversed with Mikaelian winning the late rounds. With the victory, the Miami-based Armenian improved his ledger to 28-3 (12).<\/p>\n
After the fight, Badou Jack was gracious in defeat, acknowledging that Mikaelian was the better man tonight. Asked what\u2019s next for him, the 42-year-old Jack, who declined to 28-4-4, hinted at retirement: \u201cIt\u2019s not easy to perform at this age. I had a good career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other Bouts<\/p>\n
In the next-to-last fight on the card, lanky San Diego-area lightweight Jonny Mansour whitewashed Mexico\u2019s scrappy but limited Marco Antonio Juarez, winning 60-54 on all three cards. Of Chaldean-Iraqi extraction, the flashy, 25-year-old Mansour improved to 6-0 (2). \u00a0Juarez falls to 12-10-3.<\/p>\n
In what was billed as the co-feature, Coachella light flyweight Brook Sibrian improved to 9-2 while avenging her lone defeat with a majority decision over LA\u2019s Gloria Munguia (8-3). As was true in their first meeting in January, this was a fan-friendly affair. Sibrian prevailed by scores of 97-93 and 96-94 with the third judge having it even (96-95).<\/p>\n
In a 4-round \u201cspecial attraction,\u201d Miami cruiserweight Robert Daniels Jr, the son of the former cruiserweight title-holder of the same name, scored a first-round stoppage of close friend and sparring partner Tristan Hamm. Daniels Jr (9-0, 7 KOs) had Hamm (0-2) on the deck before ending the battle with a harsh right uppercut that compelled referee Thomas Taylor to waive it off.<\/p>\n
Supposedly from White Horse, Yukon territory, Canada, the hapless Hamm was introduced by British ring announcer Thomas Treiber as a social media sensation (but not in my household).<\/p>\n
In a 6-round lightweight contest, San Diego\u2019s Julius Ballo, Jonny Mansour\u2019s cousin, pitched a 6-round shutout over Nicaraguan trial horse Juan Carlos Centeno. Ballo (2-0, 1 KO) put Centeno on the canvas in round four with a left hook to the body but couldn\u2019t finish him off.<\/p>\n