JAKARTA - Jake Paul's plan to challenge Badou Jack in a world title fight seems to have to be postponed. Promoter Don King Productions, which houses boxer Noel Mikaelyan, has officially declared rejecting a request that Mikaelyan "get out" to give Paul a way to face Jack.
It is not yet known for certain whether Jake Paul's team officially submitted the request. However, Nakisa Bidarian, Paul's business partner at Most Valuable Promotions, had expressed their desire to bring Paul together with Badou Jack in an episode on "The Ariel Helwani Show".
"Jake wants to fight for the championship belt as quickly as possible," said Bidarian, quoted by VOI from boxingscene. But it seems difficult this year, because Badou Jack is the opponent Jake most wants to face has an obligation to rematch against his last opponent on WBC
Jack previously won the WBC (cruiserweight) cruiserweight world title after stopping Ilunga Makabu in February 2023. However, after more than two years without a fight to defend the title, Jack was given the status of "champion in recess" when he considered climbing to the bridgerweight class.
In November 2023, Noel Mikaelyan won the WBC belt which was vacant through a third round TKO victory over Makabu. However, when he was about to defend his title against Ryan Rozicki in 2024, the match was canceled because Rozicki was injured. Jack then returned to the ring and was reinstalled as champion, while Mikaelyan was given the status of champion in recess.
When Rozicki missed again, Mikaelyan moved up to replace and fight Jack in May 2025. The fight ended in a narrow victory for Jack through a majority decision: two judges gave Jack a score of 115-113, the other 114-114 draws.
Mikaelyan then appealed to the WBC, which finally ordered a rematch soon. The promoter auction for this rematch is scheduled to take place on July 15.
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Meanwhile, Michal Cieslak defeated Jean Pascal via TKO in the fourth round last June and won the WBC version of the interim cruiserweight title. However, he will not face the winner of the Jack vs Mikaelyan II duel because the WBC has mandated that Cieslak first face Yamil Peralta.
Don King Productions also confirmed that currently Jake Paul is not yet in the official WBC rankings, so the fight between Paul and Jack will not get official approval from the agency.
"The WBC can't even ratify the duel because Jake Paul is currently not registered in their rankings," said Don King's official statement.
Even so, Paul's chances of getting the title have not been completely closed. He has now entered the 14th WBA cruiserweight ranking after winning points over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a recent match.
But the move has also drawn controversy. WBA said it would review its decision to include Jake Paul in the rankings in their next convention which is scheduled to take place on July 15' 18, as reported by Ring Magazine.
With these various dynamics, the fate of Jake Paul's fight for the world championship belt is still hanging and all eyes are now on the results of the Badou Rematch Jack vs Noel Mikaelyan and the WBA decision in the near future.
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