ANAHEIM, Calif. – Just when you thought things couldn't get worse after the Anaheim Ducks' third-period collapse to the last-place Vancouver Canucks, Tage Thompson and the Buffalo Sabres stormed into Orange County.
After an early 3-1 Ducks lead, the Buffalo Sabres scored six consecutive goals, including a Thompson hat trick, to extend Anaheim's home woes and hold off the Ducks, 7-6, on Thursday at Honda Center.
Anaheim (5-7-1, 11 points) has now lost seven of its last eight games and have started just 1-4-1 at home. Ducks have allowed 21 goals in their last four games, 29 goals in their last six games and 36 in the last eight games. Anaheim is 1-6-1 in that stretch.
Mikael Granlund and Cutter Gauthier opened the scoring on a five-on-three power play, and Roger McQueen netted his first career NHL goal later in the third period.
Gauthier collected a second power play goal in the third period. Tristan Luneau and Beckett Sennecke scored with the extra attacker late.

#ducks #games #goals #sabres

Jai Opetaia became the first opponent to stop Noel Mikaelian in the co-main event Saturday in Las Vegas.
Following the win, Opetaia was joined in the ring by current unified cruiserweight champion David Benavidez.
The two men agreed to face each other next May 2027 in Las Vegas to the delight of fans at the T-Mobile Arena.
The co-main event delivered a win for Jai Opetaia in the ring, and thrilled fans with news of a unification superfight next May in Las Vegas. Start making your travel plans now.
First things first. Opetaia did what no one had yet managed to do: stop Noel Mikaelian.

#opetaia #main

Jai Opetaia scored a brutal technical knockout win in the ninth round of his cruiserweight clash with Noel Mikaelian on Saturday night, then lined up a potentially massive showdown with pound-for-pound star David Benavidez for Cinco de Mayo next year.
It all went down at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena on the Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn undercard, and provided the sport with something it has lacked — continuity — in a 200-pound division often overlooked in favor of the traditionally more glamorous weight classes that surround it.
Opetaia walked to the ring sweating, as if he'd warmed up with intent to hurt, and he needed no second invitation to land the first punch of the night. He kept his forearms high to thwart Mikaelian's probing punches, throwing single shots in return, mostly to the head and to the body too. But a clash of heads, likely caused by their opposing stances, appeared to open a cut below Opetaia's eye, slowing The Ring champion's momentum.
IS THIS FINALLY GOING TO HAPPEN ⁉️

See y'all next Cinco de Mayo 👀#GarciaBenn pic.twitter.com/rzWlLyVCzN
Whether it was the bruising that had begun to grow, or the loss of his friend and former trainer Louis Meehan, who was shot dead Wednesday in a Sydney suburb, Opetaia seemed momentarily subdued.

#mayo #next

Ryan Garcia will defend his WBC Welterweight ****** le for the first time later TONIGHT (Sat., Sept. 12, 2026) against British brawler, Conor Benn, inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in what is one of the most anticipated ****** le fights of 2026.
Garcia is riding high on confidence after winning the strap earlier his year, defeating Mario Barrios via unanimous decision (recap here). As for Benn, it's chance to win his first major world ****** le and is coming off a dominant victory over Regis Prograis earlier this year (relive it here).
Many readers check in before, during and after the fights to share their thoughts on all of the action, as the main card kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount+. Feel free to leave a comment (or several) about the bouts and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it's always a lot of fun!
147 lbs.: Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn — Garcia wins via second-round TKO
200 lbs.: Jai Opetaia vs. Noel Mikaelyan — Opetaia wins via ninth round KO
Heavyweight: Damazion Vanhouter vs. Raphael Akpejiori — Vanhouter via first-round KO
135 lbs.: Mark Magsayo vs. Andres Cortes — Cortes wims.via unanimous decision
130 lbs.: Oswaldo Molina vs. Pablo Rubio — Rubio wins via unanimous decision
168 lbs.: Abel Gonzalez vs. Raul Salomon — _Gonzalez wins via unanimous decision
154 lbs.: Vlad Panin vs. Dakota Linger — Panin wins via fourth-round KO
147 lbs.: Jose Ramirez vs. Alex Rocha — Rocha wins via unanimous decision
147 lbs.: Sean Garcia vs. Abraham Morales — Garcia wins via majority decision
Round 1:

#decision #round #unanimous #title

Jai Opetaia defended his ****** les with a nasty ninth round standing knockout over Noel Mikaelyan but the bigger moment may have come just a few minutes later when he stared down David Benavidez in hopes of setting up a showdown between them next year.
As the top cruiserweight in the sport, it was no surprise tha Opetaia got the job done on Saturday as he chipped away at Mikaelyan until he finally got the finish. But then Opetaia invited Benavidez into the ring and the two fighters showed nothing but respect and agreed it's time for them to meet in the ring for real.
"He's done a lot for the sport," Opetaia said about Benavidez. "What better fight to make. Let's get it on."
For his part, Benavidez was quick to accept that challenge with hopes that he can add yet another ****** le to his resume in the near future.
"There can only be one monster in this division," Benavidez said. "I'm the person they call when you've got to kill the boogeyman."

#opetaia #ring #noel

Jai Opetaia put on a clinic on Saturday night.
Heading into his second bout under the Zuffa Boxing banner, Opetaia showed out. The undefeated star defended his Ring Magazine **** le and Zuffa Boxing **** les in a dominating display against a tough veteran. Noel Mikaelyan, his opponent, had his moments and made the fight somewhat competitive, but the Australian upped his gear and was strolling to a decisive victory before landing big in the ninth.
A crafty vet of the boxing world, Mikaelyan was using all of the tools at his disposal to frustrate the champion, but it would be his downfall.

#mikaelyan #saturday #noel

Ryan Garcia will defend his WBC Welterweight **** le for the first time later TONIGHT (Sat., Sept. 12, 2026) against British brawler, Conor Benn, inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in what is one of the most anticipated **** le fights of 2026.
Garcia is riding high on confidence after winning the strap earlier his year, defeating Mario Barrios via unanimous decision (recap here). As for Benn, it's chance to win his first major world **** le and is coming off a dominant victory over Regis Prograis earlier this year (relive it here).
Many readers check in before, during and after the fights to share their thoughts on all of the action, as the main card kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount+. Feel free to leave a comment (or several) about the bouts and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it's always a lot of fun!
147 lbs.: Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn —
200 lbs.: Jai Opetaia vs. Noel Mikaelyan —
135 lbs.: Mark Magsayo vs. Andres Cortes —
Heavyweight: Damazion Vanhouter vs. Raphael Akpejiori —
130 lbs.: Oswaldo Molina vs. Pablo Rubio —
168 lbs.: Abel Gonzalez vs. Raul Salomon — _Gonzalez wins via unanimous decision
154 lbs.: Vlad Panin vs. Dakota Linger — Panin wins via fourth-round KO
147 lbs.: Jose Ramirez vs. Alex Rocha — Rocha wins via unanimous decision
147 lbs.: Sean Garcia vs. Abraham Morales — Garcia wins via majority decision
COMING SOON …

#decision

Uncrowned has Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn live results, round-by-round updates, ring walks, highlights and start time for the Garcia vs. Benn fight card on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Two of boxing's biggest and most polarizing stars go head-to-head as Ryan Garcia defends his WBC welterweight ******* le against Conor Benn in the night's main event.
Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) captured the WBC welterweight ******* le with a dominant unanimous decision win over Mario Barrios this past February in Las Vegas. He has two defeats: a 2025 decision loss to Rolando "Rolly" Romero for the WBA welterweight ******* le and a seventh-round TKO at the hands of Gervonta "Tank" Davis in 2023.
Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) narrowly fell short against Chris Eubank Jr. in a Fight of the Year in April 2025. He avenged that defeat last November, knocking down Eubank twice in Round 12 to seal a masterclass performance.
Benn shocked the boxing world this past February by announcing a defection from Eddie Hearn's Matchroom to Dana White's Zuffa Boxing. Benn outpointed Regis Prograis in his Zuffa debut in April.
In the night's co-feature, former two-time IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) challenges WBC champion Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs). Although there is no official confirmation yet, the WBC cruiserweight ******* le isn't expected to be on the line, with Mikalian set to be stripped by the sanctioning body upon the start of the bout.

#garcia #vegas

Zuffa Boxing's biggest card to date is now official after Ryan Garciaand Conor Benn made weight for their welterweight ***** le clash.

The 12-round headliner will see Garcia, the World Boxing Councilwelterweight champion, look to defend against Benn. Both men madeweight without issue despite speculation that Benn would struggleto hit his mark. All other fighters on the card also made weight,including Zuffa cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, who will takeon Noel Mikaelian.

Garcia (25-2) enters the fight having defeated Mario Barrios toclaim the WBC ***** le. This bounceback performance came after "KingRy" failed to dethrone Rolando Romero for the WBA belt last year.Garcia officially weighed 145.5 pounds for the ***** le defense.

Looking to cause an upset is Benn (26-1), whose only career defeatcame to Chris Eubank Jr. last year. However, the British superstarwon the rematch and then defeated Regis Prograis in his latestouting. Benn weighed 146 pounds on the dot.

The Zuffa Boxing Benn vs. Garcia event will stream live onParamount+. The main card starts at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
RyanGarcia (145.5) vs. Conor Benn (146)
Champ Jai Opetaia (199) vs. Noel Mikaelian (200)
Raphael Akpejiori (246) vs. Da'Mazion Vanhouter (231.5)
Andres Cortes (135) vs. Mark Magsayo (134.5)
Oswaldo Molina (131.5) vs. Pablo Rubio Jr. (131)
Abel Gonzalez (167.5) vs. Raul Salomon (167)
Dakota Linger (150.5) vs. Vlad Panin (151.5)
Jose Ramirez (146.5) vs. Alexis Rocha (146.5)
Sean Garcia (134) vs. AbrahamMorales (134)

#garcia #boxing #opetaia

Karen Khachanov and Veronika Shkliaeva grew up together in Moscow
They got married in 2016
Khachanov and Shkliaeva are parents to two sons
Karen Khachanov found his perfect match in his wife, Veronika Shkliaeva, long before he became a tennis star.
The childhood sweethearts grew up in Moscow and began dating as teenagers. They married in 2016 — the same year Khachanov won his first ATP singles ****** le — and later welcomed two sons, David and Mikael, according to Moskvichka magazine.

#khachanov #karen #moscow #sons

Russian tennis star Karen Khachanov is still looking for his first Grand Slam ******* le in a career where he's gotten close -- he's made the semifinals of the Australian Open back in 2023 and has made the semis at the U.S. Open twice, including 2026 when he'll meet No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev.
And if you're here, you might be wondering: Who is Khachanov's wife? We have an answer: It's Veronika Shkliaeva. They got married back in 2016 and have a sons together named David and Mikael. You can see photos of his family that he's posted over the years on Instagram:

#back #karen #khachanov

WBC Welterweight champion, Ryan Garcia, and British bruiser, Conor Benn, will finally settle their issues this Saturday night (Sept. 12, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada streaming live on Paramount+. Before then, however, they have to weigh in to make sure they make the 147-pound limit. In the co-main event of the evening, Jai Opetaia will defend his Zuffa Boxing and The Ring Cruiserweight ****** les against WBC 200-pound champion, Noel Mikaelian.
See the official live stream in the embedded video player above live at 12:00 p.m. ET.
147 lbs.: Ryan Garcia () vs. Conor Benn (146)
200 lbs.: Jai Opetaia () vs. Noel Mikaelian (200)
135 lbs.: Mark Magsayo () vs. Andres Cortes ()
Heavyweight: Damazion Vanhouter () vs. Raphael Akpejiori ()
130 lbs.: Oswaldo Molina () vs. Pablo Rubio ()
168 lbs.: Abel Gonzalez () vs. Raul Salomon ()
154 lbs.: Vlad Panin () vs. Dakota Linger ()
147 lbs.: Jose Ramirez () vs. Alex Rocha ()
147 lbs.: Sean Garcia () vs. Abraham Morales ()
To checkout the latest Zuffa boxing-related news and notes click here.

#noel #mikaelian

Bayern Munich star Jonathan Tah has taken to social media this weekend, to send a message of congratulations the way of new Barcelona youngster Mikael Baza.
Baza, for those not familiar with his name, is fresh off putting pen to paper on contract terms in Catalunya's capital. Identified as a transfer target on the part of the Barcelona brass owing to his exploits in the youth ranks of German outfit Hamburg, Deco and co. launched a late-window ***** ault on his signature.
From here, the 16-year-old was unveiled as a Blaugrana player this past Monday, set to link up with Barca Atlètic for the season ahead.
And as alluded to above, Baza has since received a congratulatory message from a leading German international, namely Bayern Munich's Jonathan Tah.
Stopper Tah is the older cousin of Baza, and therefore took to social media on Saturday to reveal his delight for the German youth international. In a post on his official Instagram account, Tah unveiled a photo of Baza in Barcelona colours, accompanied by the caption:

#german #bayern #unveiled

Genoa and Como 1907 go head-to-head at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris this Friday in the Serie A.
Genoa currently have 0 points and lie in 17th position. In their last fixture, Daniele De Rossi's team suffered a 1-0 reverse against Lazio (Serie A 2026/27).
Como 1907 currently have 4 points and lie in 8th position. Last time out, Cesc Fàbregas's team triumphed 1-2 against Napoli (Serie A 2026/27).
The last meeting between the two teams ended with Como 1907 winning 2-0.
Genoa ( vs Lazio 2026-08-30): Justin Bijlow, Alessandro Marcandalli, Leo Ostigard, Johan Vásquez, Mikael Ellertsson, Morten Frendrup, Djibril Sow, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Tommaso Baldanzi, Lorenzo Colombo, Vitinha

#serie #last

Naomi Watts and Kai Schreiber are making a compelling case against matching mother-daughter wardrobes. In Simkhai's fall 2026 campaign, there are no coordinated outfits or deliberately twinning styling moments, as one might expect from a fashionable family affair. Instead, Watts and Schreiber bring their own distinct identities to the collection—one polished and timeless, the other edgier and more eclectic.
Photographed by Mikael Jansson and styled by Camilla Nickerson, this marks Watts and Schreiber's first campaign together. (The wider cast includes Malcolm McRae, Sage Elsesser, Awar Odhiang, and Betsy Gaghan.) For creative director Jonathan Simkhai, bringing mother and daughter into the same fashion universe was a way to show how his clothes can translate across generations. "I have long been a fan of Naomi both on and off screen," he tells ELLE. "She has a timeless sense of style that feels effortless yet intentional."
As for bringing Schreiber into the fold, he adds, "I have been following Kai's modeling career and thought it would be such a great moment to ask both Naomi and Kai to take part in the campaign shoot—I can't think of a better way to showcase how Simkhai can be worn by different generations of inspiring women."
Kai Schreiber in Simkhai's fall 2026 campaign.Mikael Jansson
As it turns out, clothes already move pretty freely between those two generations in the Watts-Schreiber household. Watts tells me that Schreiber has recently begun digging through pieces she saved from the late '90s and early aughts—and Watts has started borrowing from her daughter's growing handbag collection, too. There is, however, one glaring hole in the family archive: "I got rid of all my low-slung waisted jeans," Watts says, "which she's so annoyed about."

#naomi #mother

Barcelona have completed the signing of German defender Mikael Baza from Hamburg SV, adding another highly rated teenager to their youth setup.
The 16-year-old centre-back has committed his future to Barça until 2029 and will initially join the club's youth B team.
Barcelona confirmed the agreement in an official statement, stating,
"Agreement for the incorporation of Mikael Baza to FC Barcelona from Hamburg SV in his youth stage.
"In the signing ceremony, he was accompanied by the director of Youth Football, José Ramon Alexanco."

#mikael #agreement #signing #Football

Uncrowned has Mikaela Mayer vs. Chantelle Cameron live results, round-by-round updates, highlights, ring walks and start time for the MVPW-06 fight card on Saturday at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England. Three super welterweight world ******* les are on the line, as WBA and WBC champion Mikaela Mayer faces WBO champion Chantelle Cameron in the main event.
Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs), a three-division world champion, returns for the first time since defeating Mary Spencer in October to claim the WBA and WBC super welterweight ******* les. The 2016 Olympian is Uncrowned's No. 8 pound-for-pound boxer and has won four straight since her controversial loss to Natasha Jonas in January 2024, including back-to-back victories over Sandy Ryan.
Cameron (22-1, 8 KOs) captured the vacant WBO super welterweight ******* le with a unanimous decision over Michaela Kotaskova in April. The former undisputed super lightweight champion is Uncrowned's No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer and has also won four straight bouts since suffering her lone professional defeat in a November 2023 rematch with Katie Taylor, whom Cameron famously handed her first career loss six months earlier.
The Mayer vs. Cameron prelims begin at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and ESPN2. The main card starts at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with main event ring walks expected around 4:30 p.m. ET.
Follow all of the action with Uncrowned's live results and play-by-play of the main card below.

#live #since

What time does Mikaela Mayer vs. Chantelle Cameron start? Live stream, price, full card, TV channel & more originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Who will have bragging rights when Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron headline a U.S. vs. U.K. fight card featuring several ***** le fights?
Here's a full breakdown of Mayer vs. Cameron, including fight time, streaming details and the complete card.
Date: Saturday, Aug. 29
Start time: 2 p.m. ET (prelims starting at 11 a.m. ET) | 11 a.m. PT

#cameron #mikaela

Aug. 28—The Albert Lea girls' volleyball team opened their season under first-year coach Mikaela Ulve with 25-17, 25-19, 11-25 and 25-19, winning over Hayfield at the Orrie Jirele gym.

#mikaela #ulve #orrie

This weekend, Chantelle Cameron and Mikaela Mayer will meet in a ******* le-unification clash, as the pair top a women's UK vs US card in Birmingham.
Cameron puts her WBO super-welterweight ******* le on the line against American Mayer, who holds the WBC and WBA belts, in a meeting of multiple-division champions.
Caroline Dubois is also in action, putting her unified lightweight ******* les on the line against Amelia Moore, while Terri Harper and Shannon Courtenay are among the other established names competing.
With the legendary Katie Taylor about to retire, her former rival Cameron and Mayer could be vying for the status of boxing's top female star.
Here's all you need to know:

#mayer #caroline

Chantelle Cameron is squared away to take on Mikaela Mayer in an August 29 ****** le unification in Birmingham, England, and looking towards the fight Cameron tells Sky Sports that she's been putting in all the work behind the scenes to the point where just simply doesn't feel Mayer is a special enough fighter to topple her.
To that end, Cameron says she's anticipating a career-best performance this weekend as everything has been humming in training camp and she doesn't expect anything to change that up come fight night.
"I'm heading into fight week in such a good place – confident and knowing that it's going to take someone really good and special to beat me, and I just don't think that's Mikaela. When I'm thinking like that and acting that out in the gym and everything else, I just know that I'm not going to be denied the victory."
Should Cameron come out on top she'll have a handful of world ****** les, but she says it still likely won't top the feeling of being the only person to hand the legendary Katie Taylor a defeat. So, in that respect Cameron would only rate this as her second-best achievement in the sport. Still, she'll have to handle the business between the bells before she can start counting any of her accolades.

#mikaela

This weekend, Chantelle Cameron and Mikaela Mayer will meet in a **** le-unification clash, as the pair top a women's UK vs US card in Birmingham.
Cameron puts her WBO super-welterweight **** le on the line against American Mayer, who holds the WBC and WBA belts, in a meeting of multiple-division champions.
Caroline Dubois is also in action, putting her unified lightweight **** les on the line against Amelia Moore, while Terri Harper and Shannon Courtenay are among the other established names competing.
With the legendary Katie Taylor about to retire, her former rival Cameron and Mayer could be vying for the status of boxing's top female star.
Here's all you need to know:

#american

Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron were part of a long list of women waiting for Katie Taylor to call, but the call never came. It was not a shock when they were both ignored ahead of Taylor's retirement party – in front of 80,000 at Croke Park in two weeks – but a fight between Mayer and Cameron themselves was a nice idea.
This Saturday, in Birmingham, they fight each other with three world-title belts on the line, and it is one of the very best fights that could be made in the women's game. It is an MVP promotion, their second in the UK, and once again the full card is exceptional. This time, American stars face Britain's own in every bout.
Mayer holds the WBC and WBA belts at super-welterweight, and Cameron has the WBO version, which means there will be a decent scuffle at the end between the commissioners in the ring, all desperate to attach their bauble to the champion first.
In an ideal boxing world, Cameron would be getting her third fight with Taylor, and Mayer (who first fought for a world ****** le at super-feather, a full 24lb below this weekend's limit) would be fighting at a lighter weight.
The women's game often throws up odd fights at strange weights, and this is certainly one of the very best ever in that category. The willingness and ability of the top fighters to flip in and out of alien divisions has made the women's side of the sport so competitive.

#cameron #fight #taylor

On Saturday's boxing double-header, Moses Itauma bids to become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion against Filip Hrgovic, while Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron meet in a major world ******* le unification clash.
Briton Itauma, 21, is one of boxing's brightest young talents, with 14 wins and 12 knockouts. Hrgovic, 34, brings a 20-1 record and years of top-level experience, with his only defeat coming against Daniel Dubois.
Can Itauma take down Hrgovic at London's O2 Arena and win the vacant IBF ******* le? Or will the Croatian's experience and power end the hype?
Meanwhile, Mayer and Briton Cameron collide in a three-belt light-middleweight unification fight at BP Pulse Arena in Birmingham. American Mayer holds the WBA and WBC ******* les, while Cameron owns the WBO belt.
The bout pits two top elite fighters against each other, with both aiming to move one step closer to becoming undisputed.

#cameron #World

With a three-belt unification against Noel Mikaelian off the table for now, Mike Coppinger reports that David Benavidez will return to action on December 12th. Coppinger "expect[s]" him to meet interim WBC cruiserweight champion Michal Cieslak, confirming an earlier report from Abraham Gonzalez, who claims it will land in the "area" of Benavidez's birthplace of Phoenix, Arizona.
Cieslak (28-2, 22 KO), whose only pro losses came in ******* le bids against Ilunga Makabu and Lawrence Okolie, mollywhopped the remains of Jean Pascal two Junes ago for his seventh consecutive victory since falling to Okolie in 2022. He's not a particularly glamorous opponent and doesn't have the deepest body of work outside of faded vets like Pascal, Olanrewaju Durodola, and Youri Kayembre Kalenga, but he's a solid operator and hasn't gone the distance in victory since 2018.
Benavidez (32-0, 26 KO) made short work of "Zurdo" Ramirez in his cruiserweight debut to claim the WBA and WBO ******* les. He then flexed his status as reigning WBC light heavyweight champion to push for a rare mandatory unification against Mikaelian. Sampson Lewkowicz and Don King claim to have worked out a deal, but Mikaelian elected to try his luck with Zuffa instead, which I'm still convinced will result in a lawsuit.
Thus, a kinda-palatable ******* le defense. Maybe next time.

#benavidez

Stockport County have signed St Mirren forward Mikael Mandron on a one-year contract.
The 31-year-old arrives at Edgeley Park on the back of his most prolific season for five years, with his seven goals in eight ties helping the club to win the Scottish League Cup for only the second time in their history.
Altogether, he scored 13 goals and provided 10 ****** ists last season.
That was Mandron's third season at St Mirren Park, after a nomadic senior career spent at Sunderland, Eastleigh, Wigan Athletic, Colchester United, Gillingham, Crewe Alexandra and Motherwell, before he joined St Mirren in 2023.
Mandron joined Sunderland as a scholar at 17 after coming through the French youth system, and he was called up to the Scotland Under-20 squad in 2013.

#mirren #mandron #park #stockport

It'll soon be back-to-back U.S. appearances for Australia's Jai Opetaia, who has landed the co-feature slot on one of the biggest boxing cards in 2026.
Opetaia, the reigning Zuffa cruiserweight champion, will defend his ****** le against Noel Mikaelian on the Sept. 12 Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn undercard at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas.
Mikaelian is the reigning WBC cruiserweight world champion. The status of that ****** le was not clarified in Tuesday's announcement, although Mikaelian did ****** ert his intention to defend his crown.
"When I step into the ring on September 12 against Jai Opetaia in Las Vegas, I intend to defend my world championship," Mikaelian said in a press release.
Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs), a former two-time IBF cruiserweight champion, routed Brandon Glanton in his Zuffa Boxing debut in March.

#cruiserweight #champion #defend #zuffa

Despite a standing order to defend his WBC cruiserweight ***** le against David Benavidez, Noel Mikaelian will meet Jai Opetaia in the co-feature of Zuffa Boxing's Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"This is a huge card, and I look forward to showing the world once again why I'm the best cruiserweight on the planet," Opetaia said. "Credit to Noel for stepping up to the plate while others — yes, David Benavidez, I'm talking about you — continue to run and hide."
"This is a massive fight for Jai, and it's refreshing to see a top-tier cruiserweight step forward when so many continue to avoid the challenge," said Mick Francis, Opetaia's longtime manager. "He's proud to defend the Zuffa Boxing and Ring ***** les on the biggest stage."
"When I step into the ring on September 12 against Jai Opetaia in Las Vegas, I intend to defend my world championship. This is the fight I've wanted since becoming a two-time world champion, and I'm ready to deliver," Mikaelian said. "I haven't fought since December 2025 because of circumstances outside of my control. I refused to stay inactive. Champions are meant to defend their ***** les, and that's exactly what I'm prepared to do."
It's certainly a better matchup than the Glanton fight that kicked off this whole debacle in the first place. but I personally would not put any stake in this happening. Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KO) is under contract with Don King, who remains as vexatiously litigant as ever and has a long history of quashing any attempt by his fighters to compete outside of his purview. Dan Rafael reports that King, who'd reached a deal with Benavidez promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, will follow his usual M.O. and "likely" file suit.

#opetaia

Caroline Dubois spends some time talking about her disappointment in not being able to secure a ****** le unification fight just yet as she aims to go undisputed, and keeping busy in the meanwhile rather than sitting around and waiting for the big fights to come her way. Dubois would also call out some rivals who she believes to be ducking the smoke.
"It's very disappointing. The goal was to fight either Elif Turhan or Stephanie Han. Unfortunately the Elif Turhan fight fell apart and unfortunately the Stephanie Han fight is something that has to wait, she just fought recently. So, she's resting or recovering and hopefully we can get that fight end of the year, that's the plan. I'm disappointed with Elif. We sent her an offer, she turned it down and, yeah, at the end of the day you can't force someone into the ring."
"There's a few reasons, I'm not going to go into them. At the end of the day, all I can say is the facts. I'm so happy with what we've achieved, I'm so happy for where I'm at, and I'm so excited for the future. And I know another fact is I want to be better…I want to dominate. You have to train to dominate. You have to train, you have to push yourself and I think the definition of insanity is to do the same thing and expect a different result. So if you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done.
"Working with Manny Robles now, I've been with him for three weeks now and it's been really good, really positive, great sparring, the work is good…I'm just happy to be in an exciting, booming gym."
"I think she's a coward. At the end of the day I think she knew I was going to be here, she knew that Mikaela Mayer was going to be here — she probably just thought 'nah, I don't want it'. She doesn't want it and I think it's a lame move. You come all the way out to the UK and you don't turn up? You don't want to be in the mix of some big fights? You got a table full of opponents that could possibly be in [with], you're not about it?! I think it's real disappointing and it shows her character."

#going #don 't

Boxer Jai Opetaia has started legal action in the United States to force the IBF to hand back the cruiserweight world ****** le.
The Australian claims the sanctioning body acted unlawfully when it stripped him of his belt following his first fight with promotional outfit Zuffa Boxing.
Opetaia filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Nevada seeking to have his ****** le reinstated, recover damages and legal costs, and prevent the IBF from naming another cruiserweight champion while the litigation continues.
The IBF declined to comment, with a spokesperson telling BBC Sport: "We will release a statement when it is appropriate."
The 19-page complaint - obtained by BBC Sport - claims rival governing bodies have discouraged champions from facing him, citing David Benavidez's decision not to pursue a fight after Opetaia was stripped and alleging the WBC threatened to strip Noel Mikaelian if he agreed to face the Australian instead.

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