Swedish boxing champ Badou Jack nearly closed the show in his middleweight title unification bout against James DeGale at the Barclays Center on Saturday, January 14, scoring a knockdown in the 12th round that secured him a controversial draw. The KO was retribution for DeGale having put him down in the first round. Such was the nature of the exhilarating fight, which saw Jack and DeGale swinging back and forth, with enough blows to go around. In fact, even the referee wasn't exempt from touching the canvas.
Arthur Mercante Jr. felt the brunt of Jack's determination to get back into the fight when towards the end of the 5th round he threw a left hook that missed DeGale and landed square in his face. Mercante was knocked off balance, but was able to quickly regain his footing as he reached for the ropes with the help of Jack. He sustained a cut on the check, but was able to resume officiating.
Source: instagram.com
