What to Know
- Zuffa Boxing announced a cruiserweight title fight between Jai Opetaia and Noel Mikaelian will be the co-main event on September 12 in Las Vegas on the Garcia vs Benn undercard.
- The fight will be contested for the Zuffa Boxing title and the Ring title held by Opetaia.
- The announcement came after an announcement that Mikaelian would face David Benavidez, his mandatory challenger for his WBC World Cruiserweight title.
Zuffa Boxing has added a cruiserweight championship fight as the co-feature on the Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn card scheduled on Saturday, September 12, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Zuffa and Ring world champion Jai Opetaia will face two-time world cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian on what will be Zuffa Boxing’s biggest card in its first year in operation.
Opetaia vs. Mikaelian and the entire Garcia vs. Benn card will stream exclusively on Paramount+ in all markets globally outside of the UK and Ireland, where it will be available via DAZN PPV.
Opetaia of Australia (30-0, 23 KOs), the former IBF World Cruiserweight champion who ranks among boxing’s elite pound-for-pound talents, will make the eighth defense of his Ring title. Opetaia became the Ring champion with his victory over Marius Bredis in a grueling 12-round decision in July 2022.
After three stoppage victories in 2025, Opetaia became the first-ever Zuffa Boxing champion at Zuffa Boxing 04 in March with a one-sided decision over Brandon Glanton.
Mikaelian, a native of Armenia based in Miami, Florida (28-3, 12 KOs), is sometimes the forgotten champion of the cruiserweight division. He won the vacant WBC World Cruiserweight title in November 2023 against Ilunga Junior Makabu. He then lost a razor-thin majority decision to Badou Jack but successfully avenged the loss in the rematch by a wider unanimous decision on the scorecards in December.
Navigating the Sanctioning Body Minefield
But Mikaelian, much like Opetaia before him, will have to navigate the minefield of the sanctioning organizations at odds with the Zuffa Boxing closed universe which sometimes (but not always) sees fit to recognize only its own title and the Ring title, which is only awarded when the number one and two ranked fighters in a given division (or the next best available matchup in the top four) face each other.
The WBC’s board of directors named unified WBA/WBO World Cruiserweight champion David Benavidez the mandatory challenger for Mikaelian’s WBC title earlier this year after Benavidez won the titles with his sensational victory over Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in May.
Mikaelian decided to take the unification bout with Opetaia instead.
Now the WBC will have a decision to make. According to its rules, Mikaelian should be stripped of the championship for turning down his mandatory defense. The title would be vacant.
Benavidez would remain the mandatory challenger. Currently, Michal Cieslak of Poland is the WBC Interim Cruiserweight champion. He won the designation with a TKO win over a faded Jean Pascal in June 2025 in Quebec. He hasn’t fought since then.
The winner would become the WBC champion, and assuming it’s likely to be Benavidez, he will have three of the four belts. The fourth is the IBF World Cruiserweight title held by Opetaia until his Zuffa Boxing appearance. He won the Zuffa title, but the IBF stripped him of their title in an ugly back-and-forth discussion.
Opetaia is now suing the IBF, which he claims assured him and his team his belt would be in play.
Upon the fight announcement, Opetaia took aim directly at Benavidez.
“This is a huge card, and I look forward to showing the world once again why I’m the best cruiserweight on the planet,” Opetaia said. “Credit to Noel for stepping up to the plate while others — yes, David Benavidez, I’m talking about you — continue to run and hide.”
Opetaia’s longtime manager Mick Francis also piled on.
“This is a massive fight for Jai, and it’s refreshing to see a top-tier cruiserweight step forward when so many continue to avoid the challenge. He’s proud to defend the Zuffa Boxing and Ring titles on the biggest stage.”
Mikaelian’s advisor, Anthony Girges, had his own criticisms of Benavidez. “My job has always been to put Noel in the best position to succeed. More than 60 days after Noel vs. David Benavidez was ordered, we still haven’t received a bona fide offer. Noel wasn’t going to sit on the sidelines any longer.
“This isn’t just about two champions in Noel and Opetaia. It’s about protecting the integrity of the sport and making the fights the fans deserve.”
“When I step into the ring on September 12 against Jai Opetaia in Las Vegas, I intend to defend my world championship. This is the fight I’ve wanted since becoming a two-time world champion, and I’m ready to deliver,” said Mikaelian.
“I haven’t fought since December 2025 because of circumstances outside of my control. I refused to stay inactive. Champions are meant to defend their titles, and that’s exactly what I’m prepared to do.”
What Happened to Benavidez vs Mikaelian?
Benavidez’s promoter Sampson Lewkowicz said less than a week ago that an agreement had been reached for Benavidez to unify titles with Mikaelian through his promoter, Don King. Yes, THAT Don King. According to Lewkowicz, Benavidez had signed the agreement, and it only needed Mikaelian’s signature via King, and the fight was scheduled for Saturday, December 12, at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, where Benavidez regularly sells out the venue.
But apparently, Mikaelian decided it would be better for him to take the big money fight, perhaps believing his chances of beating either man were slim and he’d rather be paid well if he was going to lose his WBC belt anyway.
Boxing fans wouldn’t find a Benavidez vs Mikaelian fight appealing except for the potential of Benavidez unifying three of the four available belts, with the fourth belt potentially available once the litigation by Opetaia is resolved. It’s then widely assumed if Benavidez can unify the cruiserweight division, he will then move up to heavyweight and begin that quest again.
Benavidez is already the heir apparent to Canelo Alvarez as the face of Mexican boxing, although as a Mexican-American his right to the crown is slightly sullied by not being a native Mexican. Becoming an undisputed champion adds to his case.
And with Don King in the mix, who doesn’t doubt that he’s already been on the phone to his lawyers? Stay tuned – and don’t make any non-refundable travel plans if you decide to buy tickets counting on seeing this co-main event on September 12.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
