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Cruiserweight contender Ilunga “Junior” Makabu has, for whatever reason, signed a deal with all-but-irrelevant veteran promoter Don King, according to ESPN, with the 88-year-old King reportedly having designs on Makabu headlining a “Rumble in the Jungle II” card in his native Congo.
Makabu (26-2, 24 KO) is a must-see type of fighter whenever he laces up, which the 31-year-old last did on Aug. 24, going to Russia where he won a decision over Aleksei Papin in a very good fight on the Kovalev-Yarde undercard. He also fought in Russia in June, stopping Dmitry Kudryashov.
King has been increasingly inactive as the years have gone by, with very few fighters in his stable and most of them sitting around doing nothing for long periods of time.
ESPN reports that King’s Congo idea is to have Makabu headline in a world title fight, with Beibut Shumenov also on the card, plus Trevor Bryan vs Manuel Charr. It will definitely really happen for sure.