Benavidez meets Cieslak for the WBC belt on Dec. 5 in Glendale, Arizona, and says his team has talked to Usyk about a cruiserweight fight; Usyk has not commented.
From 9 reports by 7 outletsLatest Vargas vs. Juarez added to the Dec. 5 card 2 updates 7 outlets
What we know
- Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles; Cieslak holds the WBC title, so the Dec. 5 fight is a three-belt unification.
- The card is at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, streaming on DAZN and Prime Video pay-per-view.
- Benavidez says his team has spoken to Usyk about a cruiserweight fight for the undisputed titles; Usyk has not commented and no fight is booked.
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. faces Keith Thurman in a 12-round middleweight co-main event.
Reported, not confirmed
- A Benavidez vs. Opetaia fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend is planned, but Benavidez gave no date or venue; Opetaia is suing the IBF to regain its title. World Boxing News
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Benavidez has said he will sign a new three-fight contract after the Cieslak bout, naming Opetaia and Artur Beterbiev as opponents.
Combat Sports UK
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Emiliano Vargas (18-0) faces Omar Juarez (21-2) over ten rounds; Marco Romero meets Cruse Stewart and Nikita Tszyu meets Roberto Valenzuela Jr. over eight rounds.
MiddleEasy
David Benavidez has been calling for Oleksandr Usyk for a year, and he now says it has gone beyond talk. At the launch for the Dec. 5 card he said his team has spoken to Usyk about coming down to cruiserweight with every belt at stake. Usyk has not commented, and no fight is booked.
First comes Michal Cieslak. Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO titles, and Cieslak's WBC belt would leave only the IBF title between him and undisputed status. The 29-year-old is 32-0 with 26 knockouts, according to MMA Mania, and a former three-division champion. He beat Gilberto Ramirez in May for his cruiserweight belts and called that his best performance.
Cieslak, from Poland, is 28-2-1 with 22 knockouts and on a seven-fight winning streak that includes the win over Jean Pascal. According to the WBC's account of the launch, promoter Sampson Lewkowicz says Cieslak's team has prepared for five months, after a proposed Benavidez fight with Noel Mikaelian fell through. Cieslak was promoted from interim to full WBC champion in September, so this is a defense of the full title.
The IBF title is the complication. According to World Boxing News, Jai Opetaia is trying to regain the belt through a lawsuit, and a Cinco de Mayo weekend fight with Benavidez is planned. If Opetaia loses in court, Benavidez could chase the vacant belt, possibly against David Nyika, which would need sanctioning approval. The WBC has already placed Opetaia in line to face the Cieslak-Benavidez winner.
Usyk is the other piece. He vacated his heavyweight belts after beating Rico Verhoeven in May, and a last fight with Deontay Wilder has stalled. Benavidez prefers cruiserweight because all four belts would make it bigger, but says he will go up to heavyweight if that is what it takes.
Underneath, Vergil Ortiz Jr. meets Keith Thurman in the co-main event, and the unbeaten Emiliano Vargas faces Omar Juarez over ten rounds. Watch for Usyk's response and the IBF ruling, which decide how far Benavidez's plan can go after Dec. 5.
First comes Michal Cieslak. Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO titles, and Cieslak's WBC belt would leave only the IBF title between him and undisputed status. The 29-year-old is 32-0 with 26 knockouts, according to MMA Mania, and a former three-division champion. He beat Gilberto Ramirez in May for his cruiserweight belts and called that his best performance.
Cieslak, from Poland, is 28-2-1 with 22 knockouts and on a seven-fight winning streak that includes the win over Jean Pascal. According to the WBC's account of the launch, promoter Sampson Lewkowicz says Cieslak's team has prepared for five months, after a proposed Benavidez fight with Noel Mikaelian fell through. Cieslak was promoted from interim to full WBC champion in September, so this is a defense of the full title.
The IBF title is the complication. According to World Boxing News, Jai Opetaia is trying to regain the belt through a lawsuit, and a Cinco de Mayo weekend fight with Benavidez is planned. If Opetaia loses in court, Benavidez could chase the vacant belt, possibly against David Nyika, which would need sanctioning approval. The WBC has already placed Opetaia in line to face the Cieslak-Benavidez winner.
Usyk is the other piece. He vacated his heavyweight belts after beating Rico Verhoeven in May, and a last fight with Deontay Wilder has stalled. Benavidez prefers cruiserweight because all four belts would make it bigger, but says he will go up to heavyweight if that is what it takes.
Underneath, Vergil Ortiz Jr. meets Keith Thurman in the co-main event, and the unbeaten Emiliano Vargas faces Omar Juarez over ten rounds. Watch for Usyk's response and the IBF ruling, which decide how far Benavidez's plan can go after Dec. 5.
- Summary
- Benavidez meets Cieslak for the WBC belt on Dec. 5 in Glendale, Arizona, and says his team has talked to Usyk about a cruiserweight fight; Usyk has not commented.
- Key points (one per line)
- Benavidez (WBA/WBO) faces WBC champion Michal Cieslak on Dec. 5 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Benavidez says his team has spoken to Usyk about a cruiserweight fight for undisputed belts; Usyk has not commented.
Emiliano Vargas faces Omar Juarez over ten rounds on the card; Ortiz vs. Thurman is the co-main event.
- Also reported by (Name | URL per line)
- MMA Mania | https://www.mmamania.com/boxing/480980/david-benavidez-vs-michal-cieslak-vergil-ortiz-jr-vs-keith-thurman-set-for-dec-5-in-phoenix
Bad Left Hook | https://www.badlefthook.com/boxing-news/120009/david-benavidez-talks-willingness-to-challenge-oleksandr-usyk-at-heavyweight-boxing-news-2026
Boxing News | https://boxingnewsonline.net/news/oleksandr-usyk-offered-cruiserweight-fight/
World Boxing News | https://www.worldboxingnews.com/benavidez-usyk-undisputed-cruiserweight/
Combat Sports UK | https://combatsportsuk.com/news/6fdb9d32-1e7a-45be-8c83-e69374b52c63/keith-thurman-says-sebastian-fundora-stopped-him-but-never-dropped-him
MiddleEasy | https://middleeasy.com/boxing/cieslak-benavidez-five-month-preparation-lewkowicz-press-conference/
MiddleEasy | https://middleeasy.com/boxing/emiliano-vargas-omar-juarez-december5-arizona-ten-rounds/
Combat Sports UK | https://combatsportsuk.com/news/81610a5a-3a0c-4f9e-935e-26072f29bf9c/david-benavidez-says-i-dont-duck-nobody-on-jai-opetaia-cinco-de-mayo-fight
MMA.pl | https://mma.pl/cieslak-pokazal-sie-na-konferencji-jego-wyglad-od-razu-przykul-uwage/
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What they're saying
BOXING n BBQ@BOXINGnBBQIn the story
Michal Cieslak must be going CRAZY in sparring 👀
Oct 28 · View on X
przemek garczarczyk@garnekmediaIn the story
Michał Cieślak na konferencji gali #BenavidezCieslak
Oct 28 · View on X
Top Rank Boxing@trboxingIn the story
NEXT MISSION SET 🫡@EmilianoFVargas wraps his year in Arizona on Saturday, Dec 5 🔥#BenavidezCieslak| @PremierBoxing
Oct 28 · View on X
Golden Boy@GoldenBoyBoxingIn the story
𝑨 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 👀 Vergil Ortiz in the co-main event and David Benavidez headlining on December 5th.#BenavidezCieslak | #OrtizThurman
Oct 28 · View on X
Fighters in this story
David Benavidez
Michal Cieslak
Keith Thurman
Oleksandr UsykMore photos
How the story developed
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Benavidez says his team has spoken with Usyk about a cruiserweight fight
Bad Left Hook
Sources
MMA Mania
World Boxing News
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