Yamil Peralta (left) and Ryan Rozicki (right) fought to a controversial split decision victory in favor of Rozicki in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada – Photo by Argentina Boxing Promotions
Ryan Rozicki will keep his date and hometown headline.
However, the stakes and opponent have changed.
The Ring has confirmed that Noel Mikaeljan has again withdrawn from a scheduled mandatory title defense against Rozicki. Mikaeljan (27-2, 12 KOs) was scheduled to defend his WBC cruiserweight title against Rozicki on December 7 at Center 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.
However, an ongoing legal dispute with estranged Hall of Fame promoter Don King forced the reigning titleholder off the show.
Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs) will instead face Argentina’s Yamil Peralta (17-1, 9 KOs) in a rematch, this time for the interim WBC title.
“With Noel Mikaelin unavailable to defend his title, Ryan Rozicki will take on Yamil Peralta in Sydney, Canada on December 7,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told The Ring. “This fight is sanctioned for the WBC Interim World Cruiserweight title. (It) makes for a great championship battle with Ryan being the No. 1 contender and Yamil the No. 2 contender.
“The winner will be recognized as a true WBC World Champion.”
Rozicki won their first fight by split decision, which took place at this very venue. Many struggled with the May 2022 outcome, as Peralta was believed to deserve the nod.
Peralta’s team immediately sought a rematch. They even filed a protest with the WBC, whose independent review found grounds to recognize the fight as a No Contest.
The official result remains a victory for Rozicki, as recognized by the Nova Scotia Combat Sport Authority. The night is the lone decision victory on Rozicki’s ledger, having scored knockouts in his other 19 victories.
However, it was also an affair he was never entirely satisfied with and wanted to revisit.
“This is the rematch Ryan always wanted,” Daniel Otter of Three Lions Promotions, Rozicki’s promoter, told The Ring. “He is so focused and determined to be the best of the best. He will claim victory on December 7.
“Noel is not fighting Ryan, so Peralta is next on the road and Ryan will become world champion. We are confident.”
Peralta has won four since the controversial loss to Rozicki. His most recent was his best performance to date, a ten-round split decision over longtime contender Thabiso Mchunu (23-7, 13 KOs) on March 22 in Durban, South Africa.
The performance elevated Peralta high enough in the rankings to be in position to grab the next available title slot. Now comes a chance to avenge his lone career defeat.
As for Rozicki, it’s a chance to move on from a fight his team believes will never see the light of day.
“The Noel Mikaelin issue has become so recurring that we’re all happy to just move on,” Otter noted. “After several attempts to get Noel in the ring, an eleventh hour deal was made before the Purse bid a few weeks ago.
The deal referred to was Three Lions Promotions’ latest attempt to move forward with a fight that has now been postponed five times. It was previously up for a purse hearing after June and September fight dates were canceled entirely. An injury to Mikaeljan during training camp was cited as the cause for the June dropout.
No reason was given for the September 28 cancellation, the perfect metaphor for the state of Don King Productions in 2024.
Otter and representatives for King rallied to come to terms to secure the Dec. 7 date in Rozicki’s hometown.
“Noel is now claiming legal trouble against a 93-year-old man rumored to be struggling with health issues,” Otter said. “It’s all become very bizarre.”
It became very clear that Mikaeljan, assessed No. 2 on 200 by The Ringhas no interest in facing Rozicki.
Mikaeljan hasn’t fought since. won the belt in a third round knockout of former titlist former champion Ilunga Makabu. The feat took place last November 4 in his adopted hometown of Miami. It is now highly likely that he will be stripped of his title for failure to defend.
At least Rozicki can continue his career and in familiar surroundings.
The main residents of Center 200 are the Cape Breton Eagles of the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League. Rozicki (29) is also a regular at the venue. He has headlined or featured prominently in all six boxing events that have appeared on the site in the 21st century.
His most recent came in December 2022 in a first-round knockout of Mario Aguilar (23-9, 19 KOs), one fight after his close win over Peralta.
Four more 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, Rozicki has won seven in a row since an October 2021 loss to Oscar Rivas. Their hotly contested battle marked the first WBC Bridgerweight title fight.
Rozicki and Peralta are rated as no. 8 and no. 9 at cruiserweight, respectively, by The Ring.
The silver lining in the new plans is the timing of the battle. The annual WBC convention will begin a day later, on December 8 in Hamburg, Germany. Sulaiman confirmed the WBC cruiserweight title status among the topics to be covered during his week-long session.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
