LOS ANGELES, California — Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) said all week that with a full camp this time, he would beat Badou Jack (29-4-3, 17 KOs), and that’s exactly how it unfolded in the main event at the Ace* Mission Studios in L.A.
Mikaelian scored a unanimous decision with the judges scoring it 115-111, 116-110, and 116-110 which earned him the WBC cruiserweight title for the second time in his career. The scorecards were much wider than what FightsATW thought they should have been, but Mikaelian still won the fight.
During the in-ring post-fight interview, Jack said he was unsure about his future and that he didn’t “like the way he felt.” Mikaelian did not stay in the ring long enough to discuss what he might have in store for next year.
Both fighters came out somewhat hesitant in the opening round and relied on feints to try and gain territory. Mikaelian landed a right hand that made Jack step back and stumble a little, but it was mainly because Jack was off balance. Jack kept applying pressure with his left jab, and his overhand right made Mikaelian hesitant to come inside.
In the second round, the first half was a jab fest as both fighters tried to establish their left jab. In the second half, things opened up as Jack landed a hard left hook that rocked Mikaelian. Then, Mikaelian came back with an overhand right that rocked Jack. They both threw punches after the bell.
Mikaelian increased his punch output in the third round as he started targeting Jack’s body while also landing shots to his arms and shoulders. Jack mostly absorbed the punches, but occasionally slipped in a quick left hook or right hand. It was a round Mikaelian dominated with volume.
In the fourth round, Mikaelian was mostly controlling the pace with his left jab. Jack was waiting for the right moment to land his punches, but they came less frequently. Mikaelian was in a better rhythm than Jack throughout the round.
The fifth and sixth rounds was more of Mikaelian controlling the pace, but in typical Jack fashion, he increased his offense in the seventh round, as he is known to be a second-half fighter. After several rabbit punches by Mikaelian, the referee deducted a point, which gave Jack the boost he needed, especially since he hadn’t been sharp in the two previous rounds.
The eighth round was slow as both fighters seemed to take a breather. Toward the end of the round, the referee deducted a point from Jack for hitting Mikaelian after a break. Then, after the bell, Jack and Mikaelian continued to fight, leading to a small brawl in the ring.
Jack came out fired up in the ninth round and landed vicious right uppercuts and overhand rights that rocked Mikaelian, who had the high guard up throughout the round. During the last ten seconds, Mikaelian landed a flurry of punches to try and steal the round. In the tenth, it was Mikaelian who came back strong as Jack appeared to be a little gassed. Mikaelian landed big overhand rights while throwing left and right hooks to the body. Jack was doing his best to avoid getting hit with anything too big.
In the final two rounds, Mikaelian finished stronger as 42-year-old Jack started to look his age, with his offense nearly nonexistent.
Undercard Results
Brook Sibrian (9-2, 4 KOs) scored a majority decision (95-95, 96-94 & 97-93) over Gloria Munguilla (8-3) in a fight that went down to the wire.
Julius Ballo (2-0) scored a dominant unanimous decision over Juan Centeno (10-26-4, 2 KOs). Ballo fought Centeno at a higher weight class than usual, but it didn’t matter—he still came out on top. Ballo has a promising future ahead of him.
Hayley Jordan (1-1) scored a unanimous decision (39-37, 40-36 x 2) over Chantal Sumrall (1-3-1) as Jordan gets her win after losing their first fight.
Sasha Saldana (2-0) scored a dominant unanimous decision win over Vana Medrano Yanez (0-2-1), with the judges scoring it 39-36 and 40-35 twice. Saldana appears to be a fighter on the rise, possessing the power and in-ring skills to potentially become something special in the future.
Adrian Boler (5-0, 3 KOs) scored four knockdowns on his way to a clear unanimous decision (40-32 x2 & 39-33) victory over Benji Gomez (1-6) to open the night’s fight card.
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