Benavidez vs. Cieslak Set for December 5 With Three Belts at Stake

David Benavidez and Michal Cieslak will fight on December 5 on DAZN pay-per-view, with three cruiserweight titles in play. The date is a week earlier than had been expected, a move that keeps the card away from Joshua vs. Fury.

The social media announcements from the parties did not name a venue. BoxRec and Piotr Jagiello of TVP Sport both list Phoenix, in line with earlier reports.

How the WBC belt came into play

The bout turned into a unification after Noel Mikaelian lost the WBC cruiserweight title. Mikaelian, who had gone to Zuffa, declined to face Benavidez as his mandatory challenger, and that cost him the belt.

Benavidez comes in unbeaten at 32-0 with 26 knockouts. Cieslak, from Poland, is 28-2 with 22 knockouts.

Cieslak earned the interim belt two Junes ago by beating Jean Pascal. That win was his seventh straight stoppage, a run that started after his unsuccessful title challenge against Lawrence Okolie in 2022. Both of his defeats came in the biggest fights of his career so far, and he has not won a decision in years.

What is known about the undercard

No undercard has been announced officially. According to Julius Julianis, Vergil Ortiz Jr. will take on Keith Thurman on the show.

Julianis also reports that Jesus Ramos Jr., the interim WBC middleweight champion, will appear. Ramos is waiting for his turn while full champion Carlos Adames first makes a voluntary defense against Gerome Warburton and then faces mandatory challenger Meiirim Nursultanov. No dates have been set for either Adames fight.

Chris Mannix reports that Elijah Garcia is set to face Irish prospect Tommy O'Toole at super middleweight.

Source: Bad Left Hook