WBA / WBO cruiserweight champion David “El Monstro” Benavidez (pictured) will make his Arizona homecoming in a unification clash against his WBC counterpart Michal Cieslak on Saturday, December 5th as part of a PBC pay-per-view event available on DAZN through Prime Video from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The pay-per-view begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will also feature undefeated Vergil Ortiz Jr. against former two-belt champion Keith “One Time” Thurman in a twelve-round middleweight affair.
The pay-per-view will also see a trio of rising stars enter the ring in separate bouts as unbeaten Emiliano “El General” Vargas competes in a junior welterweight ten rounder, middleweight Marco “El Tiburon” Romero in an eight-round special feature, and Australia's Nikita Tszyu's U.S. debut in the eight-round junior middleweight opening bout. Tickets for the live event go on sale Friday, October 23 at 12 p.m. PT through Ticketmaster.com. The event is promoted by Sampson Boxing and TGB Promotions. Ortiz vs. Thurman is co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. The Emiliano Vargas fight is co-promoted by Top Rank. The Nikita Tszyu fight is co-promoted by No Limit Boxing and the Rose Brothers.
“David Benavidez has been building his own legacy from the beginning,” said Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing. “From when he became the youngest super middleweight champion ever, to his time as light heavyweight king, and now as the unified cruiserweight champion. ‘The Mexican Monster’ David Benavidez hides from no one, and no one can stop him. David has always had my full support for his history-making career. This is his time.”
“Unified cruiserweight king David Benavidez is must-see entertainment every time he steps into the ring, and he’ll be highly-motivated to be at his best in front of his home state fans in Arizona as he looks to add another cruiserweight title to his collection against an experienced world champion in Michal Cieslak,” said promoter Tom Brown, president of TGB Promotions. “Combined with a highly-competitive co-main event between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Keith Thurman, plus rising stars in Emiliano Vargas, Marco Romero and Nikita Tszyu, and December 5 this set up to be a can’t-miss night at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona and on pay-per-view on DAZN through Prime Video.”
“There’s a reason why Vergil Ortiz Jr. is the most avoided fighter without a belt,” said Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya. “As a former world champion, Keith Thurman is a crafty, experienced fighter who has been in there with the very best and will give Vergil some good rounds.”
“David Benavidez returning home to Arizona for a world title unification fight is the kind of moment that makes boxing special,” said Britton Hardin, Head of Boxing, North America at DAZN. “With Benavidez chasing another world title against Michal Cieslak and a blockbuster co-main event featuring Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Keith Thurman, this card delivers star power, high stakes and must-see action. We’re proud to partner with PBC to bring another major pay-per-view event to fans on DAZN.”
A three-division champion, David “El Monstro” Benavidez will look to capture a third world title at 200-pounds when he takes on the WBC title holder Michael Cieslak of Poland in Benavidez’s first fight in Arizona since a 2022 destruction of David Lemieux.
One of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, the 29-year-old Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) made his cruiserweight debut in style on Cinco de Mayo Weekend, dominating then champion Gilberto Ramirez on his way to a sixth-round stoppage. The victory followed up a 2025 campaign that saw him best then-unbeaten David Morrell Jr. by unanimous decision to add the WBA light heavyweight championship to the WBC title he’d earned in 2024 against former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Prior to that, Benavidez’s 2023 began with him defeating longtime rival Caleb Plant via unanimous decision in a March slugfest before stopping the previously unbeaten two-division champion Demetrius Andrade in six rounds in November. A Phoenix native, Benavidez became the youngest-ever 168-pound champion at age 20 when he defeated Ronald Gavril by split decision for the vacant WBC title in 2017. When he was 15 years old, Benavidez went from weighing 250 pounds to a boxing prodigy under the watchful eye of his father and trainer, Jose, Sr., and his brother and veteran contender Jose Jr., as he famously held his own in sparring against middleweight champions Gennady Golovkin and Peter Quillin as a teenager.
“I’m excited to be fighting in Arizona once again,” said Benavidez. “It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here. I’m gonna give the fans in my home state of Arizona a great performance on December 5th.”
The latest in a long line of Polish cruiserweight champions that includes Tomasz Adamek, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk and Krzysztof Glowacki, Cieslak (28-2, 22 KOs) earned an interim belt with a fourth-round stoppage of former champion Jean Pascal in June 2025. Cieslak traveled to his opponent’s hometown to capture the interim WBC title, before being recently elevated, and will now step into the ring against a hostile crowd again looking to repeat the feat against Benavidez. A native of Kozienice, Poland, Cieslak enters this fight on a seven-fight winning streak dating back to 2022, with all seven of those victories coming by way of stoppage. A pro since 2013, Cieslak had previously challenged for the WBC cruiserweight crown twice before becoming champion. In January 2020 he lost a close decision to Ilunga Makabu, before fighting for the title a second time in February 2022 when he came up short against then unbeaten Lawrence Okolie.
“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity my whole life,” said Cieslak. “This is exactly why I’ve been training – to test myself and compete on the biggest stage against fighters like Benavidez. I’m confident, but there’s no point in talking nonsense. The focus has to be on hard work. Those who know me understand that I’m not going there just to show up. I will bring all three belts back to Poland after December 5th.”
