Badou Jack facts for kids

Badou Jack (born 31 October 1983) is a Gambian-Swedish professional boxer.

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. Jack boxed for Djurgårdens IF. 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.

Professional career

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

Following his success, Jack was spotted by Floyd Mayweather in a sparring session in opposite Andre Dirrell. Mayweather was impressed and quickly signed Jack to Mayweather Promotions and to his team. On 2 February 2013 he defeated Jonel Tapia by knockout in the first round. Three weeks later he fought Don Mouton 23 February 2013 and won by unanimous decision (78–74 on all scorecards). On 4 May 2013 Jack took on Michael Gbenga and won by TKO from a body shot in round 3. Jack fought Farah Ennis on 19 July 2013. Jack won the fight by unanimous decision 100–90, 98–92, and 98–92.

In his first title fight, Jack challenged Marco Antonio Periban for the NABF super middleweight championship on 12 September 2013. After 10 rounds the fight was scored as a majority draw. In his next fight he took on Rogelio Medina on 6 December 2013. He won the fight by TKO after scoring 3 knockdowns in round 6.

On 17 February 2015 it was announced that Jack would be challenging undefeated Anthony Dirrell (27–0–1, 22 KOs) for his WBC super middleweight championship. As a voluntary defence, Jack was given little chance, most thinking that he would be knocked out. The fight took place on 24 April at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. Jack upset the boxing world by defeating Dirrell via majority decision 116–112, 115–113, and 114–114, taking more and more control of the fight as it went on and exposing the champions inability to fight on the inside. After the fight, Jack said, "I was in great shape and I believed in myself. All that talk don't matter. I knew they couldn't rob me. I thought I clearly won. It was a tough start to my career, but now, I'm a world champ."

On 17 June 2015 it was announced that Jack would make his first defence against mandatory challenger George Groves (21–2, 16 KOs) on 22 August in Las Vegas. This fight was Groves' third world title challenge, having lost back to back challenges against then world champion Carl Froch in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Jack was once again the underdog. Jack upset the odds again, defeating Groves. He dropped Groves in the first round and remained in 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, and 113–114. Groves felt as though he did enough to win and said, "Losing a world title fight is the worst feeling in the world."

Throughout his career Jack has held world titles in three weight classes, including the WBC cruiserweight title since February 2023, the WBC super-middleweight title from 2015 to 2017, and the WBA light-heavyweight title in 2017 (promoted from WBA (Regular) Champion).

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 of the Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman. He has helped Kinnaman physically prepare for roles in Robocop and Suicide Squad.

Professional boxing record

See also

In Spanish: Badou Jack para niños

• List of world super-middleweight boxing champions
• List of world light-heavyweight boxing champions
• List of world cruiserweight boxing champions
• List of boxing triple champions