Badou Jack

Amateur career

Jack began his amateur boxing career in 2001 at the age of 18. He held a record of 150 wins and 25 losses. He won Sweden's national championship five years in a row, 2004-2008, 4 times at middleweight and once at light heavyweight. In 2007, Jack was named the boxer of the year by the Swedish Boxing Federation. In his last national championship in 2008 he defeated fellow rising star Erik Skoglund in the finals. He represented Sweden at light-heavyweight before changing to Gambia, where he qualified for the 2008 Games.

At the 2nd AIBA African 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament he breezed through the competition to win; the final was a shutout win over DR Congo's Herry Saliku Biembe. Jack qualified for the 2008 Olympics for Gambia in the middleweight division, and was the nation's flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies. He lost in the first round to India's Vijender Singh.

Early career

Jack started his professional career in his native Sweden where he won his debut fight by unanimous decision on June 6, 2009. His next four fights was contested in Sweden and Finland, with Jack winning each by KO/TKO, two in the first round.

Move to United States

After meeting former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs at a Swedish boxing event, held in honor of the Swedish boxing legend Ingemar Johansson in 2009, where Jack was fighting and Briggs was brought in as a guest, Jack would move to the United States in 2010 to train with Briggs and eventually sign with Lou DiBella and the Warrior Boxing Promotions in 2011, bringing his 5-0 record over to the states.

In 2011-2012 Jack would fight and win 6 times. 4 by TKO and 2 by decision. Including defeating Adam Collins by TKO on December 16, 2011 and a unanimous decision over 6 rounds (60-54, 59-55 and 58-56) over Grover Young on March 7, 2012.

The biggest win came against fellow undefeated, 17-0, prospect Alexander Brand on May 11, 2012 by and eight-round split decision (77-75, 77-75, 75-77).

Mayweather Promotions

Following his success extending his record to 11-0, Jack was spotted by Floyd Mayweather in a sparring session opposite Andre Dirrell. Mayweather was impressed and quickly signed Jack to Mayweather Promotions and to his team.

On February 2, 2013 he defeated Jonel Tapia by knockout in the first round.

Three weeks later he fought Don Mouton February 23, 2013 and won by unanimous decision (78-74 on all scorecards).

On May 4, 2013 Jack took on Michael Gbenga and won by TKO from a body shot in round 3.

Jack fought Farah Ennis on July 19, 2013. Jack won the fight by unanimous decision (100-90, 98-92, 98-92) after 10 rounds.

Jack vs. Periban, Medina

In his first title fight, Jack challenged Marco Antonio Periban for the NABF super middleweight championship on September 12, 2013. After 10 rounds the fight was scored as a majority draw.

In his next fight he took on Rogelio Medina on December 6, 2013. He won the fight by TKO after scoring 3 knockdowns in round 6.

Jack vs. Edwards, Escalera, Sierra

On February 28, 2014 Jack fought Derek Edwards and lost for the first time after being stopped by TKO in the first round. Edwards knocked down Jack twice in first round after catching him with an overhand right counter. Prior to the loss, Jack had been in line for an elimination bout against James DeGale. The upset result was also a candidate for Upset of the Year in 2014.

Jack got back into the win column on August 30, 2014 when he fought Jason Escalera at the Palms Casino and Resort, Pearl Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada, and won by unanimous decision (100-90, 100-90, 99-91) after 10 rounds.

On December 12, 2014 he faced Francisco Sierra. Jack won the fight by TKO 1:58 into round 6.

Jack vs. Dirrell

On April 24, 2015 he challenged Anthony Dirrell for his WBC Super Middleweight championship. Jack was seen as an easy touch for the champion Dirrell and was given little chance, most thinking that he would be knocked out. However, Jack upset the boxing world by defeating Dirrell via majority decision (116-112, 115-113, 114-114), taking more and more control of the fight as it went on and exposing the champions inability to fight on the inside.

Jack vs. Groves

Jack was once again the underdog in his first title defense against mandatory challenger George Groves, first set for August 22, 2015 but later changed to September 12, 2015. And once again he upset the odds, defeating Groves after dropping him once in the first round and taking more and more control of the fight as it went on, making effective use of his body punches especially. He was victorious via split decision (115-112, 116-111, 113-114).

Jack vs. Bute

Jack was set to defend his title next against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on April 30, 2016. However, Chavez Jr. would later withdraw from the bout due to an injury. He was replaced by Lucian Bute. Where the winner would go on to fight the winner of DeGale & Medina in the fall in a World Super Middleweight unification bout. The fight was declared a majority draw (117-111, 114-114, 114-114) and, as such, Jack retained the title. The draw was controversial since it appeared as Jack had done enough to be handed the victory by all of the judges. Most of the media scorecards also had Jack as the winner by 3-4 rounds. However, on May 26, 2016 it was revealed that Bute had tested positive for a banned substance in the post-fight drug test. The substance found in Bute's test was ostarine (also called enobosarm), which is a performance-enhancing drug, not an anabolic steroid but is still said to increase stamina and recovery ability and produce similar results that steroids would. It has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency banned list since 2008. On April 24, 2017, the DC commission changed the outcome of the fight to a DQ win in favor of Jack.

Jack vs. DeGale

Showtime Boxing confirmed that a unification fight between Jack and IBF world champion James DeGale (23-1, 14 KOs) was set for January 14, 2017. The fight was supposed to be announced for the fall of 2016, however it had taken a little longer for the negotiations to complete. The vacant The Ring title would also be at stake as well as the WBC and IBF titles. On November 15, it was officially confirmed that the fight will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The first time both fighters would be fighting at the arena.

Jack retained his title after his fight was declared a majority draw when judge Glenn Feldman scored it 114-112 for DeGale and judges Julie Lederman and Steve Weisfeld both scored it 113-113 draw.. Both fighters were knocked down during the bout, Jack hitting the canvas in the first round while DeGale was dropped in the 12th, post-fight Jack's promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr, complained about the result saying his fighter had done enough to win and calling the decision "bad for boxing." When DeGale said he wanted a rematch possibly in London, Jack stated he would do it light heavyweight, with Mayweather also saying Jack has gone too big for super-middleweight. Jack's purse for the fight was $700,000, while DeGale made $750,000. According to CompuBox, Jack landed 231 of 745 punches thrown, a connect rate of 31%, more than DeGale, who landed 172 of 617, connect rate of 28%.

Light heavyweight

On January 16, 2017, the WBC ordered negotiations to begin for Jack to make a mandatory defence against British boxer Callum Smith (22-0, 17 KOs). The deadline was set for February 17, or it would go to purse bid. On January 18, Jack officially vacated his WBC belt in order to move up to light heavyweight.

Jack vs. Cleverly

On June 19, Jack revealed that his team were working towards a deal for him to fight WBA 'regular' champion Nathan Cleverly. He expected when the fight gets announced, it would be on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor in Las Vegas on August 26, 2017. Jack's light heavyweight goal was to challenge WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, after Cleverly. On July 19, according to sources, a deal was being close to being agreed from sides. On July 27, the World Boxing Association ordered Cleverly to fight undefeated WBA interim champion Dmitry Bivol (11-0, 9 KOs), which would eventually establish a mandatory challenger for 'super' champion Andre Ward.

On August 9, however, Eddie Hearn confirmed that terms had been agreed for a fight between Jack and Cleverly. It was also reported that whether the WBA 'regular' title would be at state at this point was uncertain, as mandatory challenger Bivol was yet to agree a step aside fee. On August 12, the WBA's Championships Committee granted special permission for the fight to be contested for their light heavyweight title. They also made it clear that the winner would need to negotiate a deal to fight Bivol by September 11, 2017. Jack won the WBA title on his light heavyweight debut via stoppage victory in round 5. Cleverly had some success in round 2, throwing and landing continuously without hurting Jack. In round 4, Jack piled the pressure on Cleverly, who left himself open and ended up with a bloodied nose. The end came with Cleverly against the ropes and Jack pounding him with combinations. Referee stepped in and called an end to the fight at 2 minutes and 47 seconds of round 5. At the time of stoppage, Jack had landed 172 punches of 442 thrown (39%), while Cleverly, who threw 409, only landed 82 punches (20%). In the post-fight, Jack said, "I wanted to box him and feel him out while establishing my jab. Then the plan was to break him down from there. The plan was to finish him." Cleverly stated that he suffered a broken nose in the third round. Jack also told Jim Gray of Showtime, “You can’t leave it in the hands of the judges. You have to go for the kill,” referring to his previous fight decisions. The next day, Cleverly announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 30.

Jack vs. Bivol

Per the WBA's agreement with Jack, the purse bid for the match between Jack and Interim titleholder Dmitry Bivol was set for September 25th.

Personal life

Jack was born to a Gambian father and a Swedish mother. He was raised in his father's religion of Islam and still adheres to it to this day. Jack now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jack is a close friend with Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman. He has helped Kinnaman physically prepare for roles in Robocop and Suicide Squad.