Badou Jack outpointed Anthony Dirrell on Friday night at the UIC Pavilion to take the WBC super-middleweight title.
Jack (19-1-1) received winning scores from two judges of 116-112 and 115-113, while the third had it even at 114-114.
Jack, a Las Vegas-based Swede who fights under the banner of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s promotion company, connected with a big one-two combination in the ninth round and forced the fight inside on a tiring Dirrell (27-1-1).
“I was in great shape and I believed in myself,” Jack said. “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.”
The 31-year-old Jack has won three straight fights after being stopped in the first round by Derek Edwards last year.
The 30-year-old Dirrell, from Flint, Michigan, won the title in August last year with a tough decision over veteran Sakio Bika. Dirrell was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and sidelined for 20 months. He also previously broke his leg and wrist in a motorcycle accident.
On the undercard, Danny Jacobs, four years removed from a fight with cancer, stopped Caleb Truax in the 12th round to successfully defend his WBA middleweight title.
With a comfortable lead heading into the final round, the 27-year-old Jacobs dropped Truax with a left-right combination and finished him off with a blistering array of punches against the ropes.
Jacobs, from New York, improved to 29-1 with his 26th knockout. The 31-year-old Truax, from Osseo, Minnesota, dropped to 25-2-2.
“My corner let me know he was hurt and I took advantage,” Jacobs said. “I was ready for all 12 rounds. I knew he had more experience.”
Jacobs was coming off first professional loss in 2011, when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of cancer afflicting his spine. He had surgery to remove the tumor and was out of the ring for 18 months.
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