A strange sequence of events ended with Ilunga Makabu winning a cruiserweight title in his native country.
Makabu signed a contract with promoter Don King in September only to sign a contract without him to fight Michal Cieslak for the vacant WBC title Friday in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where King hoped to reprise the legendary Rumble in the Jungle featuring Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
King had his lawyers send out a cease-and-desist letter to the WBC, hoping to stop the fight. Instead, some sort of deal was reached and the fight went on.
Cieslak (19-1, 13 KOs) was particularly effective early in the fight but Makabu (27-2, 24 KOs) gradually took control. He put Cieslak down in Round 4, although a rabbit punch seemed to be the key blow. Makabu went down himself in Round 5 when his glove touched the canvas after he absorbed a punch. However, Makabu got more work done in the later rounds to win a unanimous decision.
The scores were 114-112, 115-111 and 116-111.
Makabu, 32, was stopped by Tony Bellew in three rounds in his first attempt to win a major title, in 2016. He has now won eight consecutive fights.
Cieslak, 30, had never fought outside his native Poland.
