Ciaran Duffy working with Noel Mikaelian ahead of WBC cruiserweight defence

Ciaran Duffy will be in the corner of Noel Mikaelian as he defends his WBC cruiserweight title on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia.

Mikaelian clashes with Badou Jack in Riyadh on the undercard of the undisputed world super-middleweight title fight between Canelo Alvarez and William Scull.

Mullaghduff man and now London-based Duffy is in Saudi Arabia with Mikaelian, a 34-year-old Armenian-German boxer who holds a 27-2 record going into his bout with the 28-3-3 Badou. Duffy is aiding Mikaelian’s coach Don Charles.

‘The Dark Horse’ Mikaelian, who is champion-in-recess, won the WBC world cruiserweight title in November 2023 when stopping Ilunga Makabu in the third round in Miami.

Nine months earlier, Badou - who is a three-weight champion - actually won the same strap when he beat Makabu in Saudi Arabia.

Duffy told Donegal Live: “If Noel comes through as expected here we’ll be looking at a huge unification match at the back end of the summer - more than likely back here in Riyadh.”

Duffy has been making real inroads in coaching lately. 

In march, Freddy Kiwitt defended the WBF world light-middleweight title when he stopped Evander Castillo in the ninth round of their clash at the Deutsches Haus in Flensburg.

The Duffy Boxing Gym officially opened in Hackney Wick, London in 2024.

Read next: Ballybofey United player suspended for two years for incident involving referee

Duffy boxed as a pro himself and banked a 10-2-1 record between 2001 and 2010. In 2023, he was in the corner when Daniel Dubois - who will fight Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley in July - stopped Jarrell Miller in Saudi Arabia.