Ryan Rozicki Tears His Bicep Weeks To Major Title Challenge

Badou Jack is set to look for a new opponent for a defense title match after his originally planned opponent tears his bicep during training.

The two were set to square it up in the ring in Riyadh during the Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull card that will be taking place on May 3^rd as an undercard.

The fight officially came into play last December when WBC restored Jack Badou’s title reign after previously claiming the three-division titlist as a “champion in recess”.

The fight was originally planned to take place in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Ryan Rozicki’s home ground after Canadian won the purse bid. This happened because the two camps could not reach an agreement earlier during the negotiations and so when it went to the purse bid, Three Lions Promotions, Rozicki’s promoters won the bid.

Even though the Three Lions Promotions won the bid, the fight plans would later change as soon as Turki Alalshikh came into the picture. Turki, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and head of the Riyadh Season, known for his deep pockets, decided to sweeten the deal by picking up the tab and adding $100,000 to bring the fight to Riyadh on the Canelo-Scull card.

With just a few weeks remaining to the Canelo-Scull date (May 3), the move to get a new opponent for Jack should have already started as Jack still has a slot on the card.

Having not fought since November 2023, Noel Mikaelian (27-2, 12 KOs) is the front-runner. Mikaelian is the former WBC cruiserweight champion, a title he held since November 2023.

The fighter had been preparing to get back in the ring this May. Mikaelian was already set for the ring on May 17 but according to Don King (his promoter), the venue is not set so he would not mind stepping in for the injured Ryan Rozicki.

The two teams are already in talks for Mikaelian to become the replacement for Rozicki because he is ready and willing to step in. This will be a good deal for Mikaelian as he will get a chance to fight for the title sooner than he would have had to.