Badou Jack believes Ilunga Makabu underestimated his power ahead of fight

Badou Jack believes Ilunga Makabu was sleeping on his power heading into Sunday night.

'The Ripper' returned to the ring over the weekend in a legacy-defining championship fight. A former super-middleweight and light-heavyweight titleholder, Jack was tasked with facing WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu.

'The Junior' had reigned as champion for over three years and was even in discussions to fight Canelo Alvarez last year. However, those hopes of facing the Mexican superstar went up in smoke as he faced Jack.

In the co-main event spot of Jake Paul's return against Tommy Fury, the two went back and forth for ten rounds. However, it was Jack who reigned supreme. After scoring two knockdowns earlier in the contest, there was one final flurry in the 12th that closed the show.

The knockout win shocked fans in attendance in Saudi Arabia, but it wasn't a surprise to Badou Jack. During an interview with Seconds Out following the event, the newly crowned champion recapped his win over Ilunga Makabu.

According to Jack, his win was partially thanks to the former champion underestimating his power. In the interview, he stated:

“The key was just to box him, I had better footwork then him and not stand in front of him. But I stood in front of him a little bit too much. I landed the harder shots. They underestimated my power just because I’m coming from a lighter weight.”

Watch his comments in the video below:

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Badou Jack reveals what is next for him

Badou Jack is now a three-division world champion, so he's going to take a break.

Sunday's victory was arguably the most important in a career full of big wins. It felt like a return of sorts for Jack, as he hadn't been in a championship fight since 2019. That year, he lost back-to-back to Jean Pascal and Marcus Browne.

Ultimately, Jack switched trainers, worked on getting his body right, and eventually headed to cruiserweight. While few expected the 39-year-old to win a championship in the weight class, that's exactly what he did on Sunday.

In the post-fight interview with SecondsOut, Badou Jack revealed his plans for the future. There, 'The Ripper' made it clear that he's not interested in competing anytime soon and is planning on enjoying Umrah and Ramadan:

"Right now, I'm going to head to Mecca tomorrow or Tuesday and make Umrah. Then, I'm going to take a vacation, enjoy Ramadan, and then a little vacation again."