It's Official: Benavidez vs. Cieslak for Three Cruiserweight Belts Set for Dec. 5 on DAZN

It's official. David Benavidez will face WBC cruiserweight champion Michal Cieslak on Dec. 5 with three of the division's four major belts on the line, DAZN announced Thursday.

The Ring confirmed the stakes: Benavidez's WBA and WBO titles plus Cieslak's WBC belt. DAZN's official poster bills the show as a PBC pay-per-view on DAZN.

How we got here

Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) took the WBA and WBO belts from Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez by sixth-round knockout in May, BoxingScene reported. He has since formally vacated his belts at 175 pounds, Dan Rafael reported, though the WBC said he keeps the right to challenge for its light heavyweight title later.

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Cieslak (28-2, 22 KOs), 37, of Poland, was elevated from interim to full WBC champion after Noel Mikaelian was stripped for facing Jai Opetaia instead of a mandatory against Benavidez, per Rafael.

The fight was first pencilled in for Dec. 12 in the Phoenix area, but it moved after Fury vs. Joshua landed on Dec. 11, BoxingScene reported. Thursday's announcement locks in Dec. 5.

Venue and co-main

Update: PBC has since confirmed the venue: Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, in Benavidez's home state, live on PPV on DAZN and Prime Video. Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Keith Thurman is the 12-round middleweight co-main event, as Boxbid reported here, and tickets go on sale Friday at 12 p.m. PT. Boxbid covered Ortiz's move to middleweight earlier this month.

This is also the last fight on Benavidez's deal with promoter Sampson Lewkowicz and Premier Boxing Champions, as Boxbid reported when Lewkowicz said the contract runs out in December. Benavidez has told DAZN he plans to promote himself afterward while staying with PBC, with a likely Opetaia fight in 2027. He has also talked up Artur Beterbiev at cruiserweight.

Think Cieslak can spoil the party? Lock in your pick on Boxbid's Fight Picker once the card opens.