It wasn’t a great afternoon for the #PurseBidHeads, but a big one for Ryan Rozicki and his team.
The Ring has confirmed that an eleventh-hour deal has been reached for Rozicki’s rescheduled challenge from WBC cruiserweight titleholder Noel Mikaeljan. Their oft-postponed title fight is now set for December 7th at Center 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Don King Productions and Three Lions Promotions, the promoters for Mikaeljan and Rozicki respectively, were able to recover on Friday afternoon. Common ground was found just minutes before a scheduled purse hearing was canceled as a result.
Mikaejan (27-2, 12 KOs) will now have to travel to Rozicki’s hometown for his first title defense.
“We were able to close a deal with Don King minutes before the deadline, Three Lions Promotions head Daniel Otter told The Ring. “We are very excited to bring the world title to Canada.
“Ryan is ready to become the world champion and is eager to get in the ring.”
That eagerness could not be overstated enough.
Mikaeljan-Rozicki has already endured four postponements. Issues have arisen since a cut Mikaeljan sustained during training camp killed their planned June 7 fight date.
The latest rescheduling effort saw the two meet on top of a Don King show on September 28 at Casino Miami Jai Alai in Miami, Florida. However, the show was completely canceled without any explanation from King’s office.
This led to a default in the eyes of the WBC, which rearranged the title fight and sent the case to a purse trial. For now, the sanctioning body is satisfied with the latest result.
“It will be an incredible fight,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told The Ring. “I’m glad the WBC cruiserweight title fight will be in the ring before the end of this year.”
The fight venue marks a true home bout for Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs).
The building’s main occupants are the Cape Breton Eagles of the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League.
Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs) is also every bit the venue regular. He has headlined or featured prominently in all six boxing events that have appeared at the venue in the 21st century. His most recent was a December 2022 first-round knockout of Mario Aguilar (23-9, 19 KOs).
Another four knockout victories were added to Rozicki’s impressive record as he emerged as the WBC cruiserweight mandatory challenger. The several title fight delays have kept him out of the ring since a first-round knockout of Olanrewaju Durodola (46-10, 41 KOs) last December 3 in Sydney.
All told, the 29-year-old has won seven in a row since an October 2021 loss to Oscar Rivas. Their hotly contested fight was the first WBC Bridgerweight title fight.
His previously planned title challenge of Mikaeljan would have marked Rozicki’s first career fight outside of Canada.
Now it’s Mikaeljan who takes the road and fights at another promoter’s show.
Mikaeljan, rated No. 2 on 200 by The Ringwon the belt in a third round knockout of former titlist former champion Ilunga Makabu last November 4 in his adopted Miami hometown. The 33-year-old Armenian remains the only active titleholder on King’s current promotional roster.
Rozicki is The Ring’s no. 8-rated cruiser weight.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
