Despite many setbacks, Noel Mikaelian is not letting them get him down. On December 13, the German wants to recapture what he already considers his own: the WBC cruiserweight title. In BOXSPORT, Mikaelian gives us an insight into his preparations.
To say that Noel Mikaelian has had a turbulent few years would be an understatement. After his world championship triumph over Ilunga Makabu at the end of 2023, the 35-year-old embarked on an odyssey through the murky waters of the boxing business. Fights were scheduled, training camps were canceled and rescheduled, more cancellations, a feud with promoter godfather Don King, the arbitrary withdrawal of his world title by the WBC – and finally, in May of this year, the last-minute chance to reclaim the belt against the “world champion” Badou Jack in Riyadh. An opportunity that fizzled out due to an extremely controversial points defeat. The judge’s decision was so questionable that a protest by Mikaelian to the WBC bore fruit: he will get his revenge in Los Angeles on December 13.
After all these trials and tribulations, Mikaelian is happy to finally be back at a normal training camp in his adopted home of Miami. “Preparations are going very well. It’s great to be training with my regular coach Pedro Diaz again, with whom I also became world champion in 2023,” reports the former champion in an interview with BOXSPORT. With the Cuban, he attaches great importance to going through “a full camp”, “so that I have enough time for endurance training and do enough sparring sessions”.
That had been different before the first duel against Jack. Mikaelian was only able to fight in Riyadh because his challenger Ryan Rozicki was injured. The man from Hamburg with Armenian roots effectively had two and a half weeks to prepare for the world championship fight….
You can find the full story about Noel Mikaelian and his chances in the rematch with Badou Jack in the current issue of BOXSPORT! Now available in the BOXSPORT app! Click here to subscribe!