{"id":137794,"date":"2026-08-05T09:27:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T14:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=137794"},"modified":"2026-08-05T09:27:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T14:27:42","slug":"cruiserweight-champions-jai-opetaia-noel-mikaelian-collide-in-co-feature-to-garcia-vs-benn-at-t-mobile-arena-in-las-vegas-breaking-boxing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=137794","title":{"rendered":"Cruiserweight Champions Jai Opetaia &#038; Noel Mikaelian Collide In Co-Feature to Garcia Vs Benn at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas &#8211; Breaking Boxing News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=137794\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=137794\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-137795 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thumbnail-5-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thumbnail-5-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thumbnail-5-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thumbnail-5-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thumbnail-5.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Zuffa Boxing and Ring world champion Jai Opetaia will face two-time world champion Noel Mikaelian on Saturday, September 12, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>Opetaia vs. Mikaelian will serve as the co-feature to the welterweight super fight between reigning champion Ryan Garcia and British star Conor Benn. The entire Garcia vs. Benn card will stream exclusively on Paramount+ at no additional cost to subscribers in all markets globally outside of the UK and Ireland, where it will be available via DAZN PPV.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs), the Australian southpaw who ranks among the sport\u2019s pound-for-pound best, will make the eighth defense of the Ring title he captured in July 2022. After three stoppage victories in 2025, Opetaia made history in March at ZUFFA BOXING 4, becoming the promotion\u2019s inaugural champion with a one-sided decision over Brandon Glanton.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a huge card, and I look forward to showing the world once again why I&#8217;m the best cruiserweight on the planet,\u201d Opetaia said. \u201cCredit to Noel for stepping up to the plate while others \u2014 yes, David Benavidez, I\u2019m talking about you \u2014 continue to run and hide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a massive fight for Jai, and it\u2019s refreshing to see a top-tier cruiserweight step forward when so many continue to avoid the challenge,\u201d said Mick Francis, Opetaia\u2019s longtime manager. \u201cHe\u2019s proud to defend the Zuffa Boxing and Ring titles on the biggest stage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I step into the ring on September 12 against Jai Opetaia in Las Vegas, I intend to defend my world championship. This is the fight I\u2019ve wanted since becoming a two-time world champion, and I\u2019m ready to deliver,\u201d Mikaelian said. \u201cI haven\u2019t fought since December 2025 because of circumstances outside of my control. I refused to stay inactive. Champions are meant to defend their titles, and that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m prepared to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My job has always been to put Noel in the best position to succeed. More than 60 days after Noel vs. David Benavidez was ordered, we still haven\u2019t received a bona fide offer. Noel wasn\u2019t going to sit on the sidelines any longer,\u201d said Anthony Girges, Mikaelian\u2019s advisor. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about two champions in Noel and Opetaia. It\u2019s about protecting the integrity of the sport and making the fights the fans deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"360 Conversation With Singer &amp; Songwriter Russ Ballard: Music, 1960&#039;s, Miami Vice, Humanity &amp; More\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6pEli_4F6wo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F137794\" data-token=\"c76bb1fef1b70d1ed3cf5264b192273c\" data-token-time=\"1785946495\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\"><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Name or Email<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; 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Opetaia vs. Mikaelian will serve as the co-feature to the welterweight super fight between reigning champion Ryan Garcia and British star Conor Benn. The entire Garcia vs. Benn card will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[35654],"class_list":["post-137794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-cruiserweight-champions-jai-opetaia-noel-mikaelian-collide-in-co-feature-to-garcia-vs-benn-at-t-mobile-arena-in-las-vegas-breaking-boxing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137794"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/137795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}