By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT
James J. Corbett once said “You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round.” These words rang true five times at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for Swedish boxer of Gambian origin, Badou “The Ripper” Jack. After suffering a cut on his forehead in the 7th round which he later described saying “the cut was a nasty one, but I’m fine now”, Badou fought five more rounds when many would have thrown in the towel.
Fighting on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s title defence against Adrien Broner, the former two division titleholder, Badou, lost to Staten Island, US-based Marcus Browne by a unanimous points decision. In a YouTube video of The Ripper speaking to medical staff during his post-match medical examination, he said: “it was a head-butt we clashed heads.” It’s reported that the Mayweather Promotions boxer needed 25 stitches to keep his forehead together as he begins his journey towards recovery.
It was on the 7th round when the clash of heads opened up The Ripper’s forehead, a punch from Marcus Browne turned the cut to a gash as blood begun to pour from his forehead. However, Badou was not in the mood to give up and kept himself in the fight even though blood impaired his vision. By the end of the 12th round, the referee was drenched in blood and Badou’s face was completely covered in blood.
Graceful in defeat after the fight he shared these words on his Official Facebook page “I would like to thank all of the fans for your support! … Congrats to Marcus Browne who fought a great fight. Regardless of the cut he was the better man tonight. …. I dedicated this fight to the refugee children across the world who fight a much tougher fight than I did tonight. I will continue to fight for them until the end, In shaa Allah. Alhamdulillah for everything.”