BoxRec

The World Boxing Association (WBA) "Regular" Light Heavyweight Championship title was vacated after Badou Jack sent a letter to the organization this Saturday, September 23, in which he expressed his desire to give up the belt.

Jack thanked for the opportunity given by the WBA to fight for the title against Englishman Nathan Cleverly on August 28, when he defeated his rival by TKO in the fifth round.

Thus, the purse bids scheduled for Monday, September 25, between Badou Jack and mandatory challenger Dmitry Bivol of Russia were suspended. Bivol will now fight the highest rated available challenger for the title.

What!? That's crazy. I guess Jack knew he couldn't win this one.

It's just bidness at the end of the day.

Lame.

Mexi-Box wrote:What!? That's crazy. I guess Jack knew he couldn't win this one.

The only time I like mandatory fights is when we get good fights. Jack vs. Bivol was one of them fights.

He could have kept active. A win over Bivol would have been good. I know a lot of guys here rate Bivol highly. Would have been a good scrap.

Who he gonna fight now? Wait for Adonis?

Bivol should just fight the winner of Kov-Shabs..

EduardosFist wrote:It's just bidness at the end of the day.

Yeah that was my thought, I am not very well informed on the whole business angle but I assumed as Jack is with Mayweathe(/Haymon?) there is something else in it and he has something lined up

From the little I've seen of Bivol I've seen nothing Jack would *duck*. It'd be a pretty good fight so in that sense a shame but who knows? Maybe Jack-Beterbiev is in the works instead? Lol.

Wasn't this just the WBA consolation belt
Ward was sitting on the higher belt?

WTF is with a purse bid being forced so quickly?
Jack just picked up that belt about a month ago on the May/Mac undercard.

Pu#;&:y move

Ruthless-RKO wrote:Thus, the purse bids scheduled for Monday, September 25, between Badou Jack and mandatory challenger Dmitry Bivol of Russia were suspended. Bivol will now fight the highest rated available challenger for the title.

Andre Ward's title may be vacated soon, why not just promote Bivol to full champ?

Perseus wrote:Wasn't this just the WBA consolation belt
Ward was sitting on the higher belt?

WTF is with a purse bid being forced so quickly?
Jack just picked up that belt about a month ago on the May/Mac undercard.

Jack-Clev only happened for the belt happened because Bivol's team allowed it, and Jack surely wouldve known that something like this was a possibility. A new champ being crowned doesnt mean all the mandatory business gets pushed back so the new champ can go on vacation.

I heard this yesterday. Hard to call someone a ducker that has fought an extremely tough schedule by modern standards. Bivol is certainly on the high risk/low reward side of things. I'll wait and see whom Jack fights instead.

I think Bivol's overrated. Good fighter but Jack beats him.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:I heard this yesterday. Hard to call someone a ducker that has fought an extremely tough schedule by modern standards. Bivol is certainly on the high risk/low reward side of things. I'll wait and see whom Jack fights instead.

I'm guessing they're looking to make the Stevenson fight.

lefty wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:I heard this yesterday. Hard to call someone a ducker that has fought an extremely tough schedule by modern standards. Bivol is certainly on the high risk/low reward side of things. I'll wait and see whom Jack fights instead.

I'm guessing they're looking to make the Stevenson fight.

I hope so, he'll kick Stevenson's ass.

Will be a fun fight.

Obviously something else in the works but a good fight thwarted always blows. Bivol vs Barrera up next? Jack will play the waiting game for the WBC and next fight again around this time next year?

Canada wrote:I think Bivol's overrated. Good fighter but Jack beats him.

Jack is pretty damned chinny... He got cracked and stopped by a huge underdog... Cleverly was a super easy win so obviously that is a fight they went gunning for -- but Bivol gets at that chin so there was a very good chance he flattens Jack...

This is a lot like Ward retiring... Make all the Eastern Europeans fight each other for the titles and match Western boxers against each other for the other titles.. Keep the other 130-titles away from Lomachenko.. Make Golovkin and Kovalev wait forever, and then rip them off.

Weirdly probably a smart move. Like Saad said Bivol is a High Risk/Low reward fighter, and Badou Jack's name has a lot of cache at the moment. He can get better fights, and if the WBA Title's mandatory was standing in the way of better opportunities then it was an impediment more than a benefit to his career.

I'm disappointed that we won't see Bivol vs Jack because that was an interesting fight where I sensed the underdog would actually have the upper hand in the fight, but oh well.

gilgamesh wrote:Weirdly probably a smart move. Like Saad said Bivol is a High Risk/Low reward fighter, and Badou Jack's name has a lot of cache at the moment. He can get better fights, and if the WBA Title's mandatory was standing in the way of better opportunities then it was an impediment more than a benefit to his career.

I'm disappointed that we won't see Bivol vs Jack because that was an interesting fight where I sensed the underdog would actually have the upper hand in the fight, but oh well.

I doubt Bivol would have been the underdog.

If Bivol does fight the highest available...we could get either Bivol/ Sullivan Barrera or Bivol/ Gvozdyk.


Both exciting possibilities.

ldlamb wrote:If Bivol does fight the highest available...we could get either Bivol/ Sullivan Barrera or Bivol/ Gvozdyk.


Both exciting possibilities.

He is probably the Main Event in Hearns Monte Carlo show so I'd hope it's someone good. Gvodzyk would be awesome.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

lefty wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:I heard this yesterday. Hard to call someone a ducker that has fought an extremely tough schedule by modern standards. Bivol is certainly on the high risk/low reward side of things. I'll wait and see whom Jack fights instead.

I'm guessing they're looking to make the Stevenson fight.

I hope so, he'll kick Stevenson's ass.

Adonis has owed Alvarez a fight for nearly 2 years

Ruthless-RKO wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

lefty wrote: I'm guessing they're looking to make the Stevenson fight.

I hope so, he'll kick Stevenson's ass.

Adonis has owed Alvarez a fight for nearly 2 years

Yes he has.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

Ruthless-RKO wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:
I hope so, he'll kick Stevenson's ass.

Adonis has owed Alvarez a fight for nearly 2 years

Yes he has.

I'm thinking Jack will just wait. Had no intention of fighting Bivol and has nothing planned. I guess there is no point negotiating a fight you're not gonna tske

Waiting out the winner of the WBC clash seems to be the obvious route. If you don't want Bivol for the WBA then you don't exactly go looking for Beterbiev for the IBF/WBO or whatever mix of high risk/low reward type fights. Pretty boring waiting on the WBC mandatory to go through.