Ryan Rozicki will keep his date and hometown headliner.

The stakes and opponent have changed, however.

The Ring has confirmed that Noel Mikaeljan has once again withdrawn from an ordered mandatory title defense versus Rozicki. Mikaeljan (27-2, 12 knockouts) was due to defend his WBC cruiserweight title versus Rozicki on Dec. 7 at Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.

However, an ongoing legal dispute with estranged Hall of Fame promoter Don King forced the reigning titlist 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 Dec 7th,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told The Ring. “This fight is sanctioned for the WBC Interim World Cruiserweight Title. [It] makes for a great championship fight with Ryan being the number 1 and Yamil the number 2 contender.

“The winner will be recognized as a true WBC World champion.”

Rozicki won their first fight via split decision, which took place at this very venue. Many took issue with the May 2022 outcome, as it was believed Peralta deserved 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 win for Rozicki, as recognized by the Nova Scotia Combat Sport Authority. The night marks the lone decision victory on Rozicki’s ledger, who scored knockouts in his other 19 wins.

However, it was also an affair with which he was never fully satisfied and wanted to revisit.

“This is the rematch Ryan always wanted,” Three Lions Promotions’ Daniel Otter, Rozicki’s promoter, told The Ring. “He is so focused and determined to be the best of the best. He will be victorious come Dec 7th.

“Noel ain’t fighting against Ryan so Peralta is next up and Ryan will become champion of the world. We are confident.”

Peralta has posted four wins since the controversial defeat to Rozicki. His most recent was his best feat to date, a ten-round split decision over longtime contender Thabiso Mchunu (23-7, 13 KOs) on March 22 in Durban, South Africa.

The feat elevated Peralta high enough in the rankings to be in position to grab the next available title slot. It now comes in 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 repetitive we are all glad to just move on,” noted Otter. “After several attempts to get Noel in the ring, an eleventh hour deal was made before the Purse bid a few weeks ago.

The referenced deal was Three Lions Promotions’ latest effort to push forward with a fight that has now suffered five postponements. It was previously due for a purse bid hearing after fight dates in June and September were canceled outright. An injury by Mikaeljan during training camp was cited as the cause for the June fallout.

No reason at all was given for the Sept. 28 cancellation, the perfect metaphor for the state of Don King Productions in 2024.

Otter and representatives for King huddled to come to terms to secure the Dec. 7 date in Rozicki’s hometown.

“Now Noel claims legal woes against a 93 year old man who is rumored to be battling health issues,” Otter said. “It’s all become very bizarre.”

It has become abundantly clear that Mikaeljan, rated No. 2 at 200 by The Ring, has no interest in facing Rozicki.

Mikaeljan has not fought since he. won the belt in a third-round knockout of former titlist former champ Ilunga Makabu. The feat occurred last November 4 in his adopted Miami hometown. It is now highly likely that he is relieved of his title for failure to defend.

Rozicki at least gets to proceed with his career and in familiar surroundings.

The main occupants of Centre 200 are the Cape Breton Eagles of the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League. Rozicki, 29, is also every bit the venue regular. He has headlined or was prominently featured in all six boxing events to appear at the site in the 21st century.

His most recent came in a Dec. 2022 first-round knockout of Mario Aguilar (23-9, 19 KOs), one fight after his narrow win over Peralta.

Four more knockout wins have been tacked on to Rozicki’s impressive record as he emerged as the WBC cruiserweight mandatory challenger. The several title fight delays have left him out of the ring since a first-round knockout of Olanrewaju Durodola (46-10, 41 KOs) last Dec. 3 in Sydney.

All told, Rozicki 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 and Peralta are rated No. 8 and No. 9 at cruiserweight, respectively, by The Ring.

The silver lining in the new plans is the timing of the bout. The annual WBC Convention will begin one day later, on Dec. 8 in Hamburg, Germany. Sulaiman confirmed the WBC cruiserweight title status among the topics that will be covered during its week-long session.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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