Mikaelian currently holds the WBC cruiserweight title, but that could change ahead of September 12, when he faces The Ring cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. The WBC named unified cruiserweight champion and WBC light heavyweight titleholder David Benavidez as Mikaelian’s mandatory challenger on May 29.

With Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) not facing Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) next, he could be stripped by the WBC. Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) versus Mikaelian is the co-main event to Ryan Garcia versus Conor Benn for Garcia’s WBC welterweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card will stream on Paramount+ in the United States and on DAZN PPV in the UK and Ireland.

“I was not surprised anymore because it's boxing,” Mikaelian told The Ring’s Mike Coppinger of Benavidez being named as his mandatory challenger. “Every day there's something new. How can you put a champion who is currently also a champion in a different weight class [and] has the other titles in the weight class? They announce him to be mandatory.

“I never saw it before in my life, so I was surprised. Then they said, ‘Oh, if Noel is fighting Jai, and he gets stripped.’ Wait, I don't understand that. That's the fight to make, and why would I get stripped? I had a voluntary defense. They gave me a voluntary defense, and it didn't happen until now, not because of my power, but because of my promoter and outside circumstances.”

It is rare for a champion to be ordered by a sanctioning body to face the owner of another governing organization’s belt. It occurred, in part, because Benavidez’s handlers petitioned the WBC on his behalf.

In Mikaelian's first reign as the WBC cruiserweight champion, he was eventually named the “Champion in Recess” after an injury and promotional issues with Don King, which caused multiple fight cancellations.

Mikaelian, The Ring’s No. 5-ranked cruiserweight, said he initially agreed to a bout with Benavidez, who is The Ring’s No. 1 contender in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions and No. 5 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list. After not hearing back from them for over 60 days or receiving an agreement, he opted to pursue the bout with Australian Opetaia.

Mikaelian, 35, said he didn’t want to wait until December for his next fight. The Armenian reclaimed the WBC cruiserweight belt with a unanimous decision over Badou Jack in their rematch on December 13.

“I have to make a living,” Mikaelian said. “I have to fight. I have to make a career. I can’t wait forever. I’m already getting gray hair. It’s either now or never.”

Benavidez, 29, will likely face interim WBC cruiserweight titleholder Michal Cieslak (28-2, 22 KOs) on December 12. The Phoenix, Arizona, native won the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles with a dominant sixth-round stoppage of Gilberto Ramirez on May 2 in Las Vegas.

If Mikaelian were to be stripped, the WBC title would likely be added to Benavidez-Cieslak, whether it’s vacant or Cieslak is elevated to full champion.

Cieslak, 37, is The Ring’s No. 4-ranked cruiserweight. The Polish cruiserweight won the interim WBC title with a fourth-round stoppage of former light heavyweight titleholder Jean Pascal in June 2024.

Mikaelian maintained he’d still be willing to face Benavidez, and that he should be next for the winner of his bout against Opetaia, who last fought on March 8, winning a one-sided unanimous decision over Brandon Glanton.

“We can still make the Benavidez fight happen after this,” Mikaelian said. “The winner can fight Benavidez afterwards in December or in January. The fight is not off the table.”