David Benavidez poised for WBC cruiserweight title bout with Michal Cieslak

American boxer David Benavidez, who moved up to cruiserweight in May and captured the WBA and WBO titles, was named the WBC mandatory challenger to champion Noel Mikaelian. Mikaelian instead agreed to a unification fight with Ring Magazine champion Jai Opetaia on the Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn card in Las Vegas on September 12, prompting the sanctioning body to consider stripping him and vacating the title.

Sources report that, if the WBC does strip Mikaelian, the vacant belt could be decided in a November‑December showdown between Benavidez and interim champion Michal Cieslak. Neither the WBC nor Benavidez’s camp has confirmed the matchup, and negotiations remain ongoing.