A fight scheduled for last weekend is now headed to the auction block.
The Ring has confirmed that the snakebit Noel Mikaeljan-Ryan Rozicki WBC cruiserweight title fight is back on purse bid status. The two were due to meet on a Sept. 28 Don King Productions show in Casino Miami Jai Alai in Miami, Florida.
No reason was given for the show’s cancelation. Whatever the case, it was enough for King, Mikaeljan’s promoter, to be declared in default of his original agreement.
Rozicki is promoted by Daniel Otter’s Three Lions Promotions.
The fallout marked the fourth time that the fight has failed to stick to a scheduled date. There were issues dating back to a cut suffered by Mikaeljan (27-2, 12 knockouts) in training camp which killed plans for their June 7 meeting. An agreement was made to reschedule, in lieu of a new opponent sought for Rozicki.
Three postponements later, the patience of Rozicki’s team was long exhausted.
“We are now hopeful to win the purse bid and Ryan to become the WBC World Champion,” Otter told The Ring.
Mikaeljan, rated No. 2 at 200 by The Ring, was due to make his first title defense. The 33-year-old Armenian won the belt in a third-round knockout of former titlist former champ Ilunga Makabu last November 4 in his adopted Miami hometown.
He remains the only active titlist on King’s current promotional roster.
Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs) will enter his second career title fight, whether in the U.S. or on home soil.
The 29-year-old from Ontario, Canada has won seven in a row since an October 2021 defeat to Oscar Rivas. Their fiercely contested battle marked the inaugural WBC Bridgerweight title fight.
Rozicki was due to fight outside of Canada for the first time in his career. His team’s intention is now to keep the fight north of the border.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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The post Noel Mikaeljan-Ryan Rozicki WBC Cruiserweight Title Fight Heads To Oct. 4 Purse Bid appeared first on The Ring.
