Photos: Lucian Bute Grinding Hard For Badou Jack Title Bout

NEW YORK - A three-fight series to crown a unified divisional champion will begin on Saturday, April 30, when WBC 168-pound champion Badou Jack defends his title against former longtime titlist Lucian Bute, and IBF Champion James DeGale risks his belt against mandated challenger Rogelio Medina in a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) from the DC Armory in Washington D.C. Photos by Robert Levesque/Photo Zone Sport.

The winners will meet in a super middleweight world-title unification fight later this year.

Jack (20-1-1, 12 KOs) will make his second title defense after a breakthrough 2015 campaign in which he won the WBC belt from Anthony Dirrell and successfully defended against George Groves.  The southpaw Bute (32-3, 25 KOs), a former IBF champion with nine defenses between 2007 and 2012, revived his career last November with a gutsy and inspired performance against DeGale.

DeGale (22-1, 14 KOs) will make his second title defense after an impressive 2015 in which he defeated Andre Dirrell to win the vacant IBF belt and topped Bute in a Fight of the Year candidate.  The hard-hitting Medina (35-6, 29 KOs), the IBF's mandatory challenger, has knocked out three consecutive opponents.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Interbox in association with Matchroom Boxing, are priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, and are on sale now. To purchase tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster locations, or call (800) 745-3000.

Badou Jack "The Ripper", of Las Vegas by way of Stockholm, Sweden, captured the WBC 168-pound crown with a 12-round majority decision over previously unbeaten defending champion Anthony Dirrelllast April 24.  A former amateur standout who represented Gambia in the 2008 Olympics, Jack retained his belt against former world title challenger George Groves last Sept. 12 on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's final fight.  Jack, who fights under the Mayweather Promotions banner, was an underdog against both Dirrell and Groves.  The 6-foot-1, 32-year-old has won four in a row since a shocking first-round knockout loss to Derek Edwards in February 2014.

Bute, of Montreal, Canada by way of Romania, has been a super middleweight mainstay for the last decade.  He has competed in 12 title fights since 2007, scoring seven knockouts in nine consecutive defenses of the IBF belt he won in 2007 in his adopted hometown of Montreal.  During his title reign, the 36-year-old defeated the likes of Glen Johnson, Librado Andrade and Jean-Paul Mendy, but he lost the belt to Carl Froch in 2012 and a string of injuries kept him largely inactive over the next three years.  Bute returned from a 19-month absence in August 2015 under new trainer Howard Grant, knocking out Andrea Di Luisa to set up the title shot against DeGale for the crown he once held.  Bute stalked the switch-hitting DeGale with a relentless attack, turning in his most impressive performance in years in a close decision loss.

James "Chunky" DeGale, of London, England, won the vacant IBF belt in his U.S. debut last May by dropping Andre Dirrell twice on his way to a unanimous decision. The 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist then successfully defended it last November in a thrilling shootout with hometown favorite and former titlist Lucian Bute.  The 30-year-old, who's only blemish came in a majority decision in his 11th bout against then-unbeaten George Groves, will make his third consecutive start outside his native England as he looks to become a global power at 168 pounds.

Rogelio "Porky" Medina is a hard-hitting veteran with 30 knockouts in his 36 career wins.  He's knocked out three consecutive opponents, including a shocking third-round knockout of then-undefeated J'Leon Love in August, 2014.  Medina, 27, has suffered six losses in 42 fights, although those defeats came against opponents with a combined record of 187-16-3, including four previously undefeated fighters.