Rozanski vs Jack in the works
Badou Jack stopped Ilunga Makabu for the WBC cruiserweight belt in February
Badou Jack was understandably unwilling to drop 20 pounds for a shot at Canelo Alvarez, but he’s plenty willing to move up. The Ring reports that “The Ripper” will challenge Lukasz Rozanski for the WBC bridgerweight “title” in Saudi Arabia by the end of the year.
Kevin Lerena, Rozanski’s mandatory challenger, has reportedly agreed to step aside.
His division may be a joke, but Rozanski (14-0, 13 KO) most certainly is not. He’s never been past the fourth round, violently dispatching the likes of Izu Ugonoh, Artur Szpilka, and most recently Alen Babic in April. Though 37 years old, he has nowhere near the mileage of Ilunga Makabu, whom Jack (28-3-3, 17 KO) stopped in February to become a three-division champion. Beating him would undoubtedly be an impressive feather in Jack’s cap.
It’s not like Jack has a lot available to him at 200; Chris Billam-Smith and Jai Opetaia each have defenses in the works, the former against Mateusz Masternak and the latter against Richard Riakporhe, and I’m half-convinced Arsen Goulamirian is a psy-op by the French to pretend they have a world champion. This is a reasonably interesting, competitive fight that could produce some quality action.