Jean Pascal will replace Yamil Peralta and face Michal Cieslak for the WBC’s interim cruiserweight title, the sanctioning body announced.

Pascal said the bout will take place at the Place Bell in Quebec, Canada on June 28.

"Back at the top of the food chain," the former lineal light heavyweight champion Pascal wrote on Instagram Stories. "They underestimated me. They forgot about me. But the top ... that's where I live."

The WBC released a statement to address the situation.

"The cruiserweight category has had a variety of complications in recent years. The interim title, which was authorized for Cieslak versus Peralta, found complications to be staged. Thus the board of governors authorized the interim title to be contested between Cieslak and Pascal, with the winner committed to fight Peralta."

As for the regular title, WBC champion Badou Jack will face WBC champion in recess Noel Mikaelian on May 4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the undercard of the undisputed super middleweight title fight between Canelo Alvarez and William Skull on DAZN PPV.

Mikaelian replaced the injured Ryan Rozicki to fight Jack for the title he never lost in the ring. Mikaelian was supposed to face Rozicki last year but the fight was cancelled three separate times. During its annual convention in December, the WBC elevated the 41-year-old Jack to full champion status even though he last fought in February 2023 and vacated the title soon after beating Ilunga Junior Makabu. Mikaelian knocked out Makabu in November of that year and has not fought since.

Pascal (37-7-1) has fought just three times since 2019 and wasn’t listed in the WBC’s top 40 rankings released earlier this month. The 42-year-old Haitian-born Canadian last fought in September and knocked out Terry Osias in 10 rounds.

The past-his-prime Pascal has had a reputable 20-year career. He holds wins against Jack, Marcus Browne, Chad Dawson, Lucian Bute, and Yuniesky Gonzalez. He's also lost to Dmitry Bivol, Carl Froch, Eleider Alvarez, Bernard Hopkins (one draw), and twice to Sergey Kovalev.

Cieslak (27-2, 21 KOs), a 36-year-old from Poland, is rated No. 3 by the WBC. He beat Felix Valera via third-round knockout in October. Cieslak's pair of losses have come in title shots against Lawrence Okolie in 2022 and Makabu in 2020.