A Champion Who Has Stopped Caring About The Belt
Right then, here is a strange one. Noel Mikaelian is the WBC cruiserweight champion. In eight days he fights Jai Opetaia in the co-main event of Garcia-Benn. And he has just told Fight Hub TV that he does not care whether the WBC strips him before the first bell. "They got to do what they have got to do," he said. "I don't care if I defend my belt or not."
Make no mistake, that is not bravado — that is a man who has read the room. The WBC ordered him to face David Benavidez months ago. His promoter, by his own account, sat on the contract for the Opetaia fight since March while he asked for his voluntary back and heard nothing. He has been stripped before. He is a two-time champion. He has decided the belt is the WBC's problem now, not his.
The Benavidez Question
Let's not beat around the bush — everyone in the division is being asked the same thing: what about Benavidez? The Mexican Monster moved up, knocked out the WBA and WBO champion in his first cruiserweight fight and immediately started talking about undisputed. The plan, as far as anyone can tell, is one more fight in December and then Opetaia in the first half of 2027 — assuming Opetaia is still standing.
Mikaelian's response was the most interesting part of the interview. "Why is he the boogeyman of the division?" he asked. "He had one fight at cruiserweight, against a former super-middleweight who was also not a real cruiserweight." He called Benavidez great, young, hungry, entertaining — and then said the winner of Mikaelian-Opetaia fights him next. It was respectful and it was pointed, and he has a point. Benavidez has not yet shared a ring with a man who was born at 200lbs.
The Opetaia Problem
The trouble is that Mikaelian has to get past the best cruiserweight in the world first. Opetaia is unbeaten, he has been the division's number one for three years, and he was stripped of the IBF belt for signing with Zuffa rather than for anything that happened in a ring. He has lawyers chasing that belt and he has spent two years chasing Benavidez. Mikaelian is not going to be allowed to get in the way politely.
What Happens To The Belts
If the WBC does strip Mikaelian, the interim champion gets elevated and Benavidez's December fight becomes a full title fight — which is what the WBC wanted all along. The IBF, meanwhile, is looking at Viddal Riley for a vacant title if Opetaia's lawsuit fails. Cruiserweight has never been this messy, and it has never been this good.
Luke's Verdict
Opetaia beats Mikaelian. He is levels above — faster, sharper, a southpaw with a jab that Mikaelian's forward style walks straight onto. The Armenian is tough and awkward and he will make it ugly for six or seven rounds, but I have Opetaia stopping him somewhere around the ninth. Then the fight that matters: Opetaia vs Benavidez, and I will say now that the Australian is the man who ends the Benavidez cruiserweight story. Mikaelian said it himself — one fight at cruiserweight does not make you the boogeyman. If you know, you know. Our fixtures page has the full Garcia-Benn card.