By Ian S Palmer
Swedish-born Badou Jack of Las Vegas will be taking on Marcus Browne of Staten Island, New York in a 12-round tilt for the vacant WBC Silver Light Heavyweight Title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this Saturday, January 19th. The bout can be seen in the USA on Showtime pay-per-view while fans in the UK can catch the action live via free television on ITV 4. Jack’s last outing was in May when he fought to a majority draw with Adonis Stevenson in a shot at the WBC Light Heavyweight crown. Browne was in the ring in August when he beat Lenin Castillo by a 10-round unanimous decision.
The 34-year-old Jack is a former WBC Super Middleweight Titleholder who then won the WBA Light Heavyweight Title by stopping Nathan Cleverly in the fifth round in August of 2017. He enters the ring with a record of 22-1-3 with 13 Kos. Jack possesses a good jab, decent and underrated power and is a good counterpuncher. He’s not a spectacular boxer, but is a very solid one. The only loss on his record came at the hands of Derek Edwards in an upset via a first-round stoppage in February of 2014.
As well as drawing Stevenson last year, He also drew with James DeGale over 12 rounds in January, 2017 in an IBF and WBC Super Middleweight Title tilt and fought to a 10-round draw with Marco Antonio Periban in September of 2013. Jack’s best wins have been over Cleverly, George Groves, Lucian Bute, Anthony Dirrell and Rogelio Medina. Jack has as habit of dropping his hands and sometimes lunging in and he’ll need to keep these traits to a minimum against Browne or pay the consequences.
Jack stands 6-feet-1-inch tall and has a 73-inch reach. He’s a former Olympian who has boxed 159 rounds since turning pro in 2009. He has a solid chin as well as plenty of heart and determination and carries around a knockout ratio of 50 per cent. He’s fought several times as a light heavyweight, but most of his career has been in the 168 lb super middleweight division. He’s got the frame to carry 175 lbs though and is obviously comfortable doing so with many fans believing he deserved the nod against Stevenson in their highly-entertaining scrap.
Browne enters the clash with a perfect mark of 22-0 along with 16 Kos. He’s a 28-year-old southpaw who has 84 rounds of experience to his name since making his pro debut in 2012. He’s more or less the same height as Jack at just over 6-feet-1-inch tall and he also has a 2.5-inch reach advantage with a wingspan of 75.5 inches. Browne also enjoyed a pretty good amateur career as he boxed at the 2012 Olympics in London, England, but was beaten by Damien Hooper on points 13-11 in his first contest.
Browne has better-than-average power in his fists as his current knockout ratio stands at 73 per cent. He’s been down a couple of times in his career including the fifth round of his most recent fight against Castillo. His biggest wins have been against Sean Monaghan, Thomas Williams Jr., Gabriel Campillo, Radivoje Kalajdzic, Cornelius White, Aaron Pryor Jr., George Blades and Otis Griffin. He’s not actually the hardest guy to hit in the ring and that makes him a pretty exciting boxer to watch.
Prediction…
Jack has been involved in some lively bouts lately and Browne never shies away from toe-to-toe action. Browne may have the edge in power, but Jack’s chin is more solid. This could be another action-packed contest and I think Jack’s experience will be enough for him to beat Browne even though he’s half a dozen years older than him.
