A Closer Look at Jack vs Makabu: A Very Modern Crossroads Fight

Published

2 years ago

February 20, 2023

A-Closer-Look-at-Jack-vs-Makabu-A-Very-Modern-Crossroads-Fight

Crossroads fights in the 1930s were about ranked contenders vying for a shot at one of only eight championships in all the world. In the 1980s, crossroads combat tended to consist of a past-prime former contender meeting with an up-and-comer in pursuit of one of three belts. Today, in 2023, a crossroads match in the cruiserweight division looks like Ilunga Junior Makabu (29-2) defending his dusty strap against a man that used to hold one of his own at 168 and 175lbs, Badou Jack (27-3-3) this weekend in Saudi Arabia.

Jack’s career has been a mess of confusion. From the moment he stepped into the ring to box for an alphabet title, his ground has been unsure. Jack met with Anthony Dirrell in 2015 at 168lbs for his first bauble, Dirrell sweeping in with single right hands, Jack returning the favour, each trying to counter the other’s jabs. At no time did either man establish dominance and at no time was a decision sure but Jack probably, barely, deserved the majority nod he received. In his first defence Jack met George Groves in a fight I scored a draw where Jack came away with a split. His second defence against Lucian Bute was scored a majority draw, later altered to a disqualification victory for Jack because of Bute’s use of Ostarine. Still with me?

Jack then boxed two more majority draws, this time with James De Gale, who lost a tooth during the fight but apparently managed to bank enough rounds to escape unbeaten (I thought Jack was a little unlucky), in defence of his 168lb strap; then against Adonis Stevenson (the luck here may have run for rather than against him), this time in defence of the 175lb strap he’d picked up against Nathan Cleverly. Three majority draws, a split decision win, a majority decision win and a disqualification win later, Jack finally dropped his title to Marcus Browne. After returning to form with a desperately close decision loss to Jean Pascal in 2019, Jack left 168 and 175 behind forever, departing for cruiserweight. He also began treading water, short of title-boxing and serious purses.

Confusion, too, has been the watchword of the world’s number four cruiserweight Ilunga Junior Makabu, but there was no uncertainty about his 2016 match with Tony Bellew where Makabu was butchered in three. It took him three years to return to the top-tier, against the Russian Aleksei Papin against whom he achieved a majority decision. In truth Makabu looked a winner in that fight, the drilled straight left Makabu seated Papin with in the twelfth seemingly the cherry on a cake made up predominantly of vicious body-punching. The judges though, saw that knockdown as all that separated the two men from a draw. Nevertheless, Makabu was able to return to the Congo for his shot at a belt, beating Michal Cieslak in a torrid affair that perhaps should not have been scored a split – Makabu took it clear. After one more defence in Congo, Makabu put his feet up. He did not box a single contest in the whole of 2021. In January of 2022 he travelled to America for the first time and under the auspices of Don King put his belt on the line against South African Thabiso Mchunu. The result was a fight so close that any narrow card is reasonable – Makabu got the split decision win.

Indeed, Makabu apparently found the decision so desperate that he rewarded himself with the rest of the year off. His story, for all that it is a tale of narrow margins, is somewhat redemptive, but in boxing just once in twenty-six months, he has rendered himself all-but irrelevant despite the strap he wears. He has clung on to his ranking by virtue of modern boxing’s tolerance for inactivity and a formerly thriving 200lb division bereft of intrigue in the wake of Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev but, in reality, should Makabu lose to Jack this weekend, he is 1-1 since 2020 and the single win is a questionable one. Makabu has been brought to the cusp of gatekeeper status by the most modern of fistic malaise, inactivity. He doesn’t fight so he can’t win – but he also can’t lose which means he has yet to be eliminated.

Explicitly, though, there is nowhere for the thirty-five-year-old Makabu to go should he lose to Jack. Jack, for his part, has been much more active but at a lower level. Out twice in 2022, he knocked out the hapless Hany Atiyo in a round before facing off against his first legitimate test since his loss to Jean Pascal, meeting the American prospect Richard Rivera on the undercard of the Usyk-Anthony Joshua rematch. Many considered Jack a little lucky to get the decision that night but I was not among them. I thought Jack made it close enough that the cards were reasonable and he landed some of the better punches in the fight, including a fizzing right hand at the beginning of the sixth. Jack was at his best throwing such sudden punches, all whip and torque, speedy and unexpected, but a lot of these gifts have departed him now. Jack is thirty-nine and the 168lb fighter that out-slicked Dirrell is gone. Jack cuts a ponderous figure in the ring, slow, fleshy, more than capable of the occasional flighted power-punch but probably no longer able to sustain such punches in bunches.

Still, ponderous but far from unsure. Jack always had one of the better static defences in boxing, another modern manifestation and one that has come about due to changes in the rules. The removal of the thumb and the increased weight of boxing gloves has made defending against weaved punches, already less effective due to the reduce nimbleness in the glove, easier: stick the mitts to the face and tuck in those elbows. Jack was never difficult to hit, but he was always difficult to hit clean and this is an art he has perfected. The reason I thought Jack did better against Rivera than many is that many of Rivera’s punches slid off those gloves by my eye. Jack relies on clean-eyed judging now, but it is a valid form of defence. It has covered for his diminished mobility.

Only on defence though – Jack isn’t going to be able to cut off the ring on many younger cruiserweights. This is in interesting opposition to Makabu’s stylistic cornerstones though; Makabu isn’t going to be running. Makabu’s problems are as old as the sport in that he has to get closer to taller, rangier foes. This has seen him develop a fascinating offensive strategy built around a fine judge of the distance. Makabu “dashes” his offence, quick punches from many different angles, he loves bodyshots, but he uses them to buy headshots, he has a stiff jab, but it is short so he uses the full range of attacking planes to buy himself that punch. In short, he is one big cruiserweight feint, a trickster masquerading as a slugger, a veteran before his time and legitimately one now. He will be right in front of Jack, who will not have to look for him.

Ilunga Makabu

Makabu, though, has become skilled at distance and controlled punching specifically because of his stature relative to his division. He is usually the shorter man with the shorter reach. In his last fight though, he was neither and clearly this threw him stylistically. Thabiso Mchunu has in many ways demonstrated just how a naturally smaller man might handle Makabu. Jack is strategically adept and will be watching that fight. What he will see is that a general defence – his defence – is more efficient here than a punch-picking defence. He will also see that Makabu is there for the type of sudden, unexpected leads that he used to be known for. This is a tantalising combination in any circumstances, but at the crossroads, it will be all the more so. Jack’s shorter reach will likely be no handicap.

Makabu’s strategy will likely hang upon a body-attack that for Jack, soft at the weight, could prove to be a painful one. Could it be that this most cerebral of confrontations could come down to the oldest cliché of them all: who wants it most? It is not impossible. Certainly the equivalent fight fought between much younger, more active fighters in a bygone era could easily have fallen into that type of violence, here it is just one of many possibilities. Will Makabu be rusty, and if so for how long? If he is, can Jack shake off that usual slow start, and if he can, how will that sit with his thirty-nine-year-old frame in rounds ten and eleven? Can Makabu’s variety crystalise to the punches that pierce the Jack guard, and if they do, can Jack uncork enough of those lashing, uncovered right hands to compensate?

There is much to be seen here and it will be seen by millions as this strange contest appears on the undercard of one even stranger. In a final and most modern of twists, Jack and Makabu will box on the undercard of the Tommy Fury-Jake Paul event, subservient to two reality tv stars. Hardcore fight fans such as those that make up the Sweet Science readership will have to decide whether to put money in the pockets of these reality tv stars in order to see Jack-Makabu. It is harder to think of a more complete summary of the strange world of boxing in 2023.

I will be sitting this one out but equally I’ll be looking for news of this crossroads contest that will set the winner on the road to a potentially lucrative showdown with Lawrence Okolie who has the promotional clout to bring the belt to Britain, but sets the loser on the road to retirement. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to see a forty-year-old Badou Jack take another tilt at cruiserweight gold in 2024; should Makabu lose, late 2024 would be about when we could expect to see him again.

In the end, I expect the man to lose out will be Jack. It will be sad to see given his long, strange, storied career but I just don’t see him holding up against that body attack and I just don’t think he is mobile enough to escape it. It could be slow and painful and he could have his right-handed moments but I think it will be a question of whether or not Jack can see the bell rather than win the day.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Matt McGrain

Up Next

What’s Next for Mauricio Lara? A Rematch with Wood or Trilogy with Warrington?

Don't Miss

Tim Tszyu vs Tony Harrison; The Winner to Face Jermell Charlo

TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts

Published

2 days ago

April 16, 2025

TSS Press

TSS-Salutes-Thomas-Hauser-and-his-Bernie-Award-Cohorts

The Boxing Writers Association of America has announced the winners of its annual Bernie Awards competition. The awards, named in honor of former five-time BWAA president and frequent TSS contributor Bernard Fernandez, recognize outstanding writing in six categories as represented by stories published the previous year.

Over the years, this venerable website has produced a host of Bernie Award winners. In 2024, Thomas Hauser kept the tradition alive. A story by Hauser that appeared in these pages finished first in the category “Boxing News Story.” Titled “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the story was published on June 23. You can read it HERE.

Hauser also finished first in the category of “Investigative Reporting” for “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” a story that ran in the (London) Guardian. (Note: Hauser has owned this category. This is his 11^th first place finish for “Investigative Reporting”.)

Thomas Hauser, who entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, was honored at last year’s BWAA awards dinner with the A.J. Leibling Award for Outstanding Boxing Writing. The list of previous winners includes such noted authors as W.C. Heinz, Budd Schulberg, Pete Hamill, and George Plimpton, to name just a few.

The Leibling Award is now issued intermittently. The most recent honorees prior to Hauser were Joyce Carol Oates (2015) and Randy Roberts (2019).

Roberts, a Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University, was tabbed to write the Hauser/Leibling Award story for the glossy magazine for BWAA members published in conjunction with the organization’s annual banquet. Regarding Hauser’s most well-known book, his Muhammad Ali biography, Roberts wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of the book to our understanding of Ali and his times.” An earlier book by Hauser, “The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” garnered this accolade: “Anyone who wants to understand boxing today should begin by reading ‘The Black Lights’.”

A panel of six judges determined the Bernie Award winners for stories published in 2024. The stories they evaluated were stripped of their bylines and other identifying marks including the publication or website for which the story was written.

Other winners:

Boxing Event Coverage: Tris Dixon

Boxing Column: Kieran Mulvaney

Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 Words): Lance Pugmire

Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 Words): Chris Mannix

The Dixon, Mulvaney, and Pugmire stories appeared in Boxing Scene; the Mannix story in Sports Illustrated.

The Bernie Award recipients will be honored at the forthcoming BWAA dinner on April 30 at the Edison Ballroom in the heart of Times Square. (For more information, visit the BWAA website). Two days after the dinner, an historic boxing tripleheader will be held in Times Square, the logistics of which should be quite interesting. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez share top billing.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Mekhrubon Sanginov, whose Heroism Nearly Proved Fatal, Returns on Saturday

Published

3 days ago

April 15, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Mekhrubon-Sanginov-whose-Heroism-Nearly-Proved-Fatal-Returns-on-Saturday

To say that Mekhrubon Sanginov is excited to resume his boxing career would be a great understatement. Sanginov, ranked #9 by the WBA at 154 pounds before his hiatus, last fought on July 8, 2022.

He was in great form before his extended leave, having scored four straight fast knockouts, advancing his record to 13-0-1. Had he remained in Las Vegas, where he had settled after his fifth pro fight, his career may have continued on an upward trajectory, but a trip to his hometown of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, turned everything haywire. A run-in with a knife-wielding bully nearly cost him his life, stalling his career for nearly three full years.

Sanginov was exiting a restaurant in Dushanbe when he saw a man, plainly intoxicated, harassing another man, an innocent bystander. Mekhrubon intervened and was stabbed several times with a long knife. One of the puncture wounds came perilously close to puncturing his heart.

“After he stabbed me, I ran after him and hit him and caught him to hold for the police,” recollects Sanginov. “There was a lot of confusion when the police arrived. At first, the police were not certain what had happened.

“By the time I got to the hospital, I had lost two liters of blood, or so I was told. After I was patched up, one of the surgeons said to me, ‘Give thanks to God because he gave you a second life.’ It is like I was born a second time.”

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have happened in any city,” he adds. (A story about the incident on another boxing site elicited this comment from a reader: “Good man right there. World would be a better place if more folk were willing to step up when it counts.”)

Sanginov first laced on a pair of gloves at age 10 and was purportedly 105-14 as an amateur. Growing up, the boxer he most admired was Roberto Duran. “Muhammad Ali will always be the greatest and [Marvin] Hagler was great too, but Duran was always my favorite,” he says.

During his absence from the ring, Sanginov married a girl from Tajikistan and became a father. His son Makhmud was born in Las Vegas and has dual citizenship. “Ideally,” he says, “I would like to have three more children. Two more boys and the last one a daughter.”

He also put on a great deal of weight. When he returned to the gym, his trainer Bones Adams was looking at a cruiserweight. But gradually the weight came off – “I had to give up one of my hobbies; I love to eat,” he says – and he will be resuming his career at 154. “Although I am the same weight as before, I feel stronger now. Before I was more of a boy, now I am a full-grown man,” says Sanginov who turned 29 in February.

He has a lot of rust to shed. Because of all those early knockouts, he has answered the bell for only eight rounds in the last four years. Concordantly, his comeback fight on Saturday could be described as a soft re-awakening. Sanginov’s opponent Mahonri Montes, an 18-year pro from Mexico, has a decent record (36-10-2, 25 KOs) but has been relatively inactive and is only 1-3-1 in his last five. Their match at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, is slated for eight rounds.

On May 10, Ardreal Holmes (17-0) faces Erickson Lubin (26-2) on a ProBox card in Kissimmee, Florida. It’s an IBF super welterweight title eliminator, meaning that the winner (in theory) will proceed directly to a world title fight.

Sanginov will be watching closely. He and Holmes were scheduled to meet in March of 2022 in the main event of a ShoBox card on Showtime. That match fell out when Sanginov suffered an ankle injury in sparring.

If not for a twist of fate, that may have been Mekhrubon Sanginov in that IBF eliminator, rather than Ardreal Holmes. We will never know, but one thing we do know is that Mekhrubon’s world title aspirations were too strong to be ruined by a knife-wielding bully.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis Wins Welterweight Showdown in Atlantic City

Published

5 days ago

April 12, 2025

David A. Avila

Jaron-'Boots'-Ennis-Wins-Welterweight-Showdown-in-Atlantic-City

In the showdown between undefeated welterweight champions Jaron “Boots Ennis walked away with the victory by technical knockout over Eamantis Stanionis and the WBA and IBF titles on Saturday.

No doubt. Ennis was the superior fighter.

“He’s a great fighter. He’s a good guy,” said Ennis.

Philadelphia’s Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) faced Lithuania’s Stanionis (15-1, 10 KOs) at demonstrated an overpowering southpaw and orthodox attack in front of a sold-out crowd at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

It might have been confusing but whether he was in a southpaw stance or not Ennis busted the body with power shots and jabbed away in a withering pace in the first two rounds.

Stanionis looked surprised when his counter shots seemed impotent.

In the third round the Lithuanian fighter who trains at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, began using a rocket jab to gain some semblance of control. Then he launched lead rights to the jaw of Ennis. Though Stanionis connected solidly, the Philly fighter was still standing and seemingly unfazed by the blows.

That was a bad sign for Stanionis.

Ennis returned to his lightning jabs and blows to the body and Stanionis continued his marauding style like a Sherman Tank looking to eventually run over his foe. He just couldn’t muster enough firepower.

In the fifth round Stanionis opened up with a powerful body attack and seemed to have Ennis in retreat. But the Philadelphia fighter opened up with a speedy combination that ended with blood dripping from the nose of Stanionis.

It was not looking optimistic for the Lithuanian fighter who had never lost.

Stanionis opened up the sixth round with a three-punch combination and Ennis met him with a combination of his own. Stanionis was suddenly in retreat and Ennis chased him like a leopard pouncing on prey. A lightning five-punch combination that included four consecutive uppercuts delivered Stanionis to the floor for the count. He got up and survived the rest of the round.

After returning shakily to his corner, the trainer whispered to him and then told the referee that they had surrendered.

Ennis jumped in happiness and now holds the WBA and IBF welterweight titles.

“I felt like I was getting in my groove. I had a dream I got a stoppage just like this,” said Ennis.

Stanionis looked like he could continue, but perhaps it was a wise move by his trainer. The Lithuanian fighter’s wife is expecting their first child at any moment.

Meanwhile, Ennis finally proved the expectations of greatness by experts. It was a thorough display of superiority over a very good champion.

“The biggest part was being myself and having a live body in front of me,” said Ennis. “I’m just getting started.”

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was jubilant over the performance of the Philadelphia fighter.

“What a wonderful humble man. This is one of the finest fighters today. By far the best fighter in the division,” said Hearn. “You are witnessing true greatness.”

Other Bouts

Former featherweight world champion Raymond Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs) showed that moving up in weight would not be a problem even against the rugged and taller Thomas Mattice (22-5-1, 17 KOs) in winning by a convincing unanimous decision.

The quicksilver southpaw Ford ravaged Mattice in the first round then basically cruised the remaining nine rounds like a jackhammer set on automatic. Four-punch combinations pummeled Mattice but never put him down.

“He was a smart veteran. He could take a hit,” said Ford.

Still, there was no doubt on who won the super featherweight contest. After 10 rounds all three judges gave Ford every round and scored it 100-90 for the New Jersey fighter who formerly held the WBA featherweight title which was wrested from him by Nick Ball.

Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs) made good on a promise to his departed daughter by knocking out Argentina’s Franco Ocampo (17-3, 8 KOs) in their welterweight battle.

Giyasov floored Ocampo in the first round with an overhand right but the Argentine fighter was able to recover and fight on for several more rounds.

In the fourth frame, Giyasov launched a lead right to the liver and collapsed Ocampo with the body shot for the count of 10 at 1:57 of the fourth round.

“I had a very hard camp because I lost my daughter,” Giyasov explained. “I promised I would be world champion.”

In his second pro fight Omari Jones (2-0) needed only seconds to disable William Jackson (13-6-2) with a counter right to the body for a knockout win. The former Olympic medalist was looking for rounds but reacted to his opponent’s actions.

“He was a veteran he came out strong,” said Jones who won a bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. “But I just stayed tight and I looked for the shot and I landed it.”

After a feint, Jackson attacked and was countered by a right to the rib cage and down he went for the count at 1:40 of the first round in the welterweight contest.

Photo credit: Matchroom

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!