The Ring’s Mike Coppinger confirmed during the latest episode of “Inside The Ring,” which streamed Monday on DAZN, that the WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion will likely face WBC interim titleholder Michal Cieslak on December 12. Other outlets have also reported that Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) versus Cieslak (28-2, 22 KOs, 1 NC) is potentially next on that date.

Handlers for Benavidez, The Ring’s No. 1 contender in the cruiserweight and light heavyweight divisions and No. 5 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, were previously in discussions to face WBC cruiserweight champ Noel Mikaelian.

Armenia’s Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) instead pivoted to a fight against Ring champ Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) on September 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. They’ll meet in the co-feature before Ryan Garcia defends his WBC welterweight title against Conor Benn in a main event Paramount+ will stream in the United States and DAZN will offer on pay-per-view and to subscribers of its Ultimate plan in the UK and Ireland.

Whether the WBC title will be on the line for Opetaia-Mikaelian remains to be seen.

The WBC named Benavidez, of Phoenix, Arizona, as Mikaelian’s mandatory challenger on May 29. It is rare for a champion to be ordered by a sanctioning body to face a champion from another sanctioning organization, but it occurred in part because Benavidez’s representatives petitioned the WBC on his behalf.

Benavidez, 29, also holds the WBC light heavyweight title. He’ll remain at cruiserweight in part because the light heavyweight fight he wants against Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO champ Dmitry Bivol isn’t available to him next.

If Mikaelian, 35, is stripped of his WBC belt, Cieslak, The Ring’s No. 4 cruiserweight contender, could be elevated to full titlist, or the title could be vacant for the Benavidez-Cieslak fight. The WBC could also mandate the winner of Opetaia-Mikaelian to face the winner of Benavidez-Cieslak in a three-belt unification bout in 2027.

Mikaelian is rated No. 5 among The Ring’s cruiserweight contenders.

Benavidez, a three-division titleholder, moved up to cruiserweight and beat Gilberto Ramirez (48-2, 30 KOs) in a dominant sixth-round stoppage to become the WBA and WBC champion on May 2 at T-Mobile Arena. Cieslak, 37, of Kozienice, Poland, last fought in June 2025, scoring a fourth-round stoppage of former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal to become the WBC interim cruiserweight champ.