Illunga Makabu vs. Badou Jack | ESPN PPV - February 26, 2023

[Ruthless-RKO]

his fight before makabu couldve easily been a loss or draw too

I remember that.

He's getting Middle Eastern gifted decisions isn't he?

[Autobarn]

no he has no claim to 6 titles, fighters dont get to magically turn draws and close loses into wins. by the same token the guys he drew with or beat close shouldve gotten the win too

same with Glen Johnson, another really good pro with a worthy overall career. I actually checked out many of his "robbery defeats" and saw him fade down the stretch in close fights, a number of times vs the likes of Sven Otto, Derek Harmon, Merqui Sosa, Omar Sheika etc. In the case of Jack obviously it's the painfully slow starts, or the inability sometimes to raise the pace when things appear dead level. I'm glad he remained consistent and positive, building on his very good basics and allowing himself to grow into new weight classes, to be rewarded last weekend with his crowning victory.

[Autobarn]

the only fight he was hard done by on the cards was marco antonio periban, and even then he spent far too much time waiting to get his punches off

his fight before makabu couldve easily been a loss or draw too

that was a really good fight by the way. indeed, he is extremely methodical and restrained in his pace. Jack wasn't throwing unless he was sure the punch would land, whereas Perriban just kept on throwing. The result was Jack appeared to shade a very close one due to superior quality punches and defence, but there was enough of an element of doubt.

I did have Pascal beating him in their great fight, as the Canadian was able to summon those extra, and quite surprising attacks, those rallies that can take a round away from the more consistent and solid boxer.

I was fine with the Stevenson draw - a great result for Jack and an intense fight. Both managed to hurt one another. Recall Jack surprising Stevenson, but getting hurt - badly - to the body in the late going which prevented Jack taking over.

The Degale fight was super close but I felt that Jack's superior technique and more solid punching, and really hurting the Brit late, secured things for Jack. But although Degale's flurries were less effective, he threw many of them while Jack was sometimes plodding.

I'm glad that he's able to remain positive after the setbacks and put on really solid, assertive boxing when given the stage. He certainly has played the long game and he certainly rewards patient viewers and fans. For a long time he was always the "other guy" - in Britain most of us assumed that Groves, Degale and Cleverly would be able to win a close but clear one against him. Well, he surprised those guys - and me - and he's still here beating up cruiserweight while those guys are long gone.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Is Jack considered elite?

[DrDuke]

Is Jack considered elite?

Not really. A well-deserved abc-champ, but not elite.

[Autobarn]

I think overall he's proven himself a top level fighter.

Hoping that he can successfully defend the title, though.

Would be gutted if he lost it in his first defence, to, say, Mchunu.

Have their been any rumours or suggestions to his first title defence?

[adislav123]

who actually really thinks canelo could take that belt from jack?

like for reals win it legitimately & rightfully so. cause no doubt if that fight happens and jack doesn't knock Alvarez out, the scorecards won't have anything to do what transpired in that ring.

if jack doesn't stop canelo, they will fornicate him over big time on the cards, steal his belt and well... compensate him pretty decently for the shafting.

[joshj909]

who actually really thinks canelo could take that belt from jack?

like for reals win it legitimately & rightfully so. cause no doubt if that fight happens and jack doesn't knock Alvarez out, the scorecards won't have anything to do what transpired in that ring.

if jack doesn't stop canelo, they will fornicate him over big time on the cards, steal his belt and well... compensate him pretty decently for the shafting.

I guess the question is, is Jack as good as Kovalev was when he faced Canelo? Jack looked much bigger than Kovalev looked when he faced Canelo so maybe there's that to factor in. For someone who isn't a huge knock out puncher, Jack looked like he had quite a bit of power at Cruiserweight.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jack is 190. Kov was 175.

Kov was boxing really well before being KO’d

[joshj909]

Jack is 190. Kov was 175.

Kov was boxing really well before being KO’d

Forgot that was at 175, it was his "comeback" at 190. Yeah, size difference makes sense then. Think 190 is a step too far for Canelo unless he finds another old or lucky title holder.

[margaret thatcher]

jack could hardly beat a clubfighter right before this, he got trounced by marcus browne too. couldnt beat ol man pascal either...........let's not act like canelo couldnt legitimately beat him. dealing with power has never been his issue and jack isnt a huge puncher anyway

[1181567]

Elite or not it's still an impressive achievement winning titles 30lbs apart.

[Autobarn]

jack could hardly beat a clubfighter right before this, he got trounced by marcus browne too. couldnt beat ol man pascal either...........let's not act like canelo couldnt legitimately beat him. dealing with power has never been his issue and jack isnt a huge puncher anyway

Pascal's a fantastic warrior, who continues to surprise. Jack's fight with Pascal was tremendous, one of the best of its year.

What I like about Jack, although he has nothing freakish about him (Kovalev or Beterbiev's power or physical presence, for example), is the absolute commitment to technique. sometimes it allows a masterclass (Cleverly, Makabu, Bute), sometimes a close win (Groves, Dirrell) or a thrilling draw (Stevenson, Degale), or the fussiness can actually prevent him from getting enough shots off to win sufficient rounds (Browne).

at this point he has an "old school pro" look about him - he's reached a certain level of refinement. I'd be curious to see what happens if he takes a big cruiserweight shot, though. even taking a blocked or deflected shot could be damaging, at that age and weight.

Canelo vs Jack sounds interesting. I don't see it happening. certainly both have been in enough close fights but the thing is that the Mexican has been allowed to get away with flashy flurries and then covering up/stalling while tired (Golovkin 1, Jacobs, Lara, Trout). I don't like how "Cinnamon" looks at light heavy - plodding, tired, slow legs. He looks great at 168, a concrete block with accurate shots, although it looks like his low punch output could cost him vs the wrong opponent. if Jack can retain the form from the Makabu fight, I'd think he'd be sharp enough to beat Alvarez, certainly up at 200.

I don't see Jack hitting the jackpot. for all I know he'll fight one of the young/fresh British cruiserweights, which we seem to have in abundance at the moment. I imagine Billiam-Smith, with that high energy style, could give him a handful.

[adislav123]

canelo has no business at 200. 175 is a stretch for him, at 200 he'd be undersized, overfed, simply out of his league.

at whatever weight he got the judges goin for him, but against any of the cruiserweight titleholders that would be it with the advantages for canelo, no matter who's belt he'd try to steal.

[Ruthless-RKO]

canelo has no business at 200. 175 is a stretch for him, at 200 he'd be undersized, overfed, simply out of his league.

at whatever weight he got the judges goin for him, but against any of the cruiserweight titleholders that would be it with the advantages for canelo, no matter who's belt he'd try to steal.

Isn’t WBC Cruiserweight at 190?

[adislav123]

canelo has no business at 200. 175 is a stretch for him, at 200 he'd be undersized, overfed, simply out of his league.

at whatever weight he got the judges goin for him, but against any of the cruiserweight titleholders that would be it with the advantages for canelo, no matter who's belt he'd try to steal.

Isn’t WBC Cruiserweight at 190?

is it?

[Ruthless-RKO]

canelo has no business at 200. 175 is a stretch for him, at 200 he'd be undersized, overfed, simply out of his league.

at whatever weight he got the judges goin for him, but against any of the cruiserweight titleholders that would be it with the advantages for canelo, no matter who's belt he'd try to steal.

Isn’t WBC Cruiserweight at 190?

is it?

Yeh, that’s the whole reason they brought in BW at 224.

[Autobarn]

Alvarez would have concrete socks at 200 - I think he has business at 175, if he plans to campaign above super middleweight l