Noel Mikaelian has been ordered by the WBC to defend its cruiserweight title against WBA and WBO champ David Benavidez next.
The Ring’s Mike Coppinger first reported the news Friday. It is rare for a champion to be ordered by a sanctioning body to face a champion from another sanctioning body, but it occurred in part because Benavidez’s handlers petitioned the WBC on his behalf. BoxingScene.com reported earlier Friday that Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) is in talks to face The Ring and Zuffa cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia later this year. The WBC could allow Mikaelian to move forward with defending his title against Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) if Benavidez , who also holds the WBC light heavyweight title, moves back down from cruiserweight to challenge Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO light heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol . Russia’s Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) is scheduled to make a mandated defense of his IBF 175-pound crown against Germany’s Michael Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs) on Saturday night at UMMC Arena in Ekaterinburg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A8gwjRmj4w Mikaelian, of Yerevan, Armenia, regained the WBC title when he beat Badou Jack by unanimous decision in their rematch on December 13 in Los Angeles. Jack won their first bout by majority decision in May 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mikaelian, 35, is The Ring’s No. 5 cruiserweight . The Ring ranks Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) first among its light heavyweight and cruiserweight contenders and fifth on its pound-for-pound list . The 29-year-old Phoenix, Arizona, native became a unified cruiserweight champion with a dominant sixth-round knockout of Gilberto Ramirez on May 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
