Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In the heavyweight limit (up to 90.7 kg), the former world champion in two weights, the Swedish veteran Badu Jack (27-3-3, 16 KOs), snatched victory in the confrontation with the American prospect Richard Rivera (21-1, 16 KOs). It was a fight between Jack the Ripper and Popeye the Sailor.
Rivera fought risky, however, as always: low-pubescent hands, a lot of movement, a bet on reflexes. Jack started the fight surprisingly aggressively – such a box was put to him by Jonathon Banks.
In the 2nd three-minute period, “Popeye” took a mahach in the center of the ring, wielded great uppercuts, shook the “Ripper”. He also had good moments, but Rivera’s explosiveness, manual speed and unrealistic attack angles seriously strained him. I had to load more often with blows to the body. He clinched in response.
Jack unusually often invested in blows, fell behind them, smeared a lot. He unequivocally lost the first half of the fight, but at the same time, he exhausted his opponent no less obviously. Blows to the body rule – notably beat off the “Popeye” sides. It is a very bad habit for an American to drive himself into a corner of the ring.
A funny episode happened in the 8th round. The timekeeper fell asleep (speculation), it turned out to be a 4-minute (but here, no jokes), during which Rivera got very solidly – he switched to survival mode, picked up blows, looked frankly bad, but did not fall.
The fight went all the planned distance. I wonder what the judges think. It seems that Jack snatched the victory, but he has an entertaining collection of draw fights. DAZN expert Chris Mannix has a draw.
Judges’ verdict: 96-94 Rivera, 96-94 Jack and 96-94 Jack. Everything is fair.
Jack SD 10.