Makabu was scheduled to fight Dmitry Kudryashov for the vacant WBC Silver cruiserweight title on June 16, 2019, at the KRK Uralets in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Although Kudryashov wasn't knocked down, the stream of undefended punches near the end of the fifth round forced the referee to step in and stop the bout.
[7] On July 12, 2019, rumors surfaced that Makabu would defend his WBC Silver title against the undefeated Alexei Papin, who was the #14 ranked IBF cruiserweight contender.
[8] On July 30, the WBC confirmed that the fight would take place on the Sergey Kovalev vs. Anthony Yarde undercard, on August 24, 2019, at the Traktor Sport Palace in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
[10] Makabu was scheduled to face the undefeated Michał Cieślak for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title on January 31, 2020, at the Temporary Arena in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Cieślak was originally scheduled to fight Nuri Seferi on December 20, 2019, before he withdrew from that bout to face Makabu for the WBC title on January 18, 2020.
Makabu rebounded in the fourth round, knocking Cieślak down with two heavy blows, one of which was a blatant uncalled rabbit punch.
[18][19][20][21] Makabu was instead booked to make the second defense of his WBC title against mandatory challenger Thabiso Mchunu on January 29, 2022, at the Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio.
[35] Makabu was instead scheduled to defend his title against the two-weight world champion Badou Jack on February 26, 2023, on the Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury undercard.
[37] On September 17, 2023, it was revealed that the reigning WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack had vacated his title in order to contest the sanctioning body's bridgerweight championship.
Don King Promotions announced, one week later, that Makabu would face the mandatory challenger Noel Mikaelian for the now vacant belt.