Noel Mikaelian Is Still Waiting To Hear Back From The WBC & Explains Why The Jai Opetaia Fight Will Happen

The cruiserweight division hasn’t had this much traction since Oleksandr Usyk became undisputed before moving up to heavyweight. On September 12, a major fight for the lineal and WBC titles will serve as the co-main event to Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn, with Ring Magazine champion Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) facing WBC champion Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) live on Paramount+.

Although things appeared to be okay on the surface when the Opetaia-Mikaelian fight was announced, there has been and still is plenty going on in the background that can determine what this fight looks like before the competitors step into the ring.

The 35-year-old Mikaelian from Yerevan, Armenia, is coming off a year in which he first lost his WBC cruiserweight title via a majority decision to Badou Jack in May. Then, seven months later, in the rematch, Mikaelian won the title back via unanimous decision. Afterwards, Mikaelian felt the victory was “very satisfying because I actually won the first fight but didn’t get the decision.”

Then the calendar turned to 2026, and that’s when things began to feel like a rollercoaster for the WBC champion. First, news broke that Mikaelian was fighting Opetaia in the summer. That quickly shifted to Mikaelian fighting unified cruiserweight champion David Benavidez in November. That created tension between Mikaelian and his promoter, Don King, which would eventually lead to Zuffa Boxing announcing Opetaia vs. Mikaelian. With everything that has happened on the business side, there is no way it wouldn’t affect him while getting ready for the fight in general.

“It’s been difficult since signing with Don [King] a couple of years ago,” said a frustrated Mikaelian. “The first time I became a champion [against Llunga Makabu], he was counting me out and didn’t want me to win. I won that fight, and then he didn’t know what to do with me promotional wise.

“I don’t know if he [King] is holding grudges, but as a fighter, I did what I could and always work in good faith with every fight and every challenge. On the promoting and managing side, it doesn’t come to me. I’m the fighter. As far as I can do, I can perform in the ring and train. That’s my job. The rest is on the promoter to promote. If you’re not promoting, you’re actually not doing your job, and that’s really not on me.”

With all that said, is King still his promoter?

“He is still my promoter, but he isn’t actually promoting, putting on any shows, or getting my name out there,” Mikaelian told FightsATW. “In the new agreement I have with him, there’s an addendum that I can outsource third-party options with my manager also by myself if they are more financially advantageous. That’s what we did with this fight [with Jai Opetaia], although a lot of people are trying to block it. We followed the addendum and what’s in black and white. We didn’t do any sneaky things. Everything is documented, which is why this fight is happening.”

The other issue concerns Mikaelian’s status as the WBC champion. While Mikaelian was battling King on the business side, the WBC approved Team Benavidez’s request to become the mandatory challenger to Mikaelian. Once the Opetaia fight was announced, that put the WBC in a difficult position. The WBC sent a letter to King asking for a formal statement of Mikaelian’s intentions regarding his next fight. Since then, the WBC has not made any public statements or announcements regarding the matter. With just under two weeks to go before fight night, Mikaelian has yet to receive an answer from the WBC, leaving his situation in limbo.

“I actually don’t know, Mikaelian said regarding the latest with the WBC. “The last time I spoke to the WBC, I spoke in good faith and asked for a voluntary defense. Because the Opetaia fight was first blocked on the promoter side [King] and there was a bona fide offer on the table which I wasn’t aware of, we are now trying to make this fight happen.

“I have asked the WBC to give me my voluntary defense back since there was no bona fide offer from the Benavidez team on the table. There was a contract out there with no date and no venue, and if the opponent changed, everything would be renegotiated as soon as December. I can’t wait that long. I have to make a living.” [Editor’s note: FightsATW emailed WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman on Monday to get an update on the status of Noel Mikaelian as their champion, but he has not responded. If a response is furnished, an update will be provided on the site.]

Mikaelian later added, “I hope the WBC aligns with our path.”

These next 10 days will be interesting, as there are still questions to be answered about this whole situation. That’s why FightsATW was told that Zuffa was searching for a standby fighter to go to Las Vegas in case things don’t go as planned. But if all goes well and we do get Opetaia vs Mikaelian on September 12, what should fans expect from the WBC cruiserweight champion? “It’s going to be a great fight,” he said. “The right winner will be announced. The real champion of the division will be announced.”

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is a 2x award-winning writer, International Boxing Hall of Fame voter, founder and publisher of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms, including online, network TV, and promotional companies. He is an alumnus of an American Public University and a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, and contributed to The Ring Magazine, FanSidedMMA, and ProBoxTV.

See author's posts