The WBC has ruled that Noel Mikaelian must choose between facing Jai Opetaia on September 12th or fulfilling his WBC mandatory against David Benavidez.
Mikaelian earned the WBC cruiserweight world title in December 2025 with his impressive victory over Badou Jack, avenging his loss to “The Ripper” suffered earlier in the year. Since then, he has been closely linked to a previously agreed upon unification match with David Benavidez, but was recently scheduled to face Jai Opetaia in the co-main event of Garcia-Benn on September 12th.
Now, WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán has revealed that a letter was sent to Mikaelian’s team demanding that he decide between the two matchups. If he decides to move forward with the September fight against Opetaia, he could be subject to being stripped of his belt prior to the match.
If Mikaelian is stripped of his belt, the WBC cruiserweight title could be up for grabs between Benavidez and Michal Cieslak, who are expected to clash later this year.