Ilunga Junior Makabu and Noel Mikaelyan had the chance to meet face-to-face for the first time this week.

It came one day ahead of their vacant WBC cruiserweight title fight, for which both boxers were well under the divisional limit. Makabu—a Congolose southpaw based in South Africa—topped the scales at a finely tuned 197.8 pounds in a bid to become a two-time titleholder. Mikaelyan was even lighter at a fighting fit 196.6 pounds.

Their scheduled twelve-round cruiserweight contest will headline a Don-King promoted Pay-Per-View event live on FITE TV this Saturday from Casino Miami Jai Alai in Miami, Florida.

Makabu (29-3, 25KOs) previously won the WBC cruiserweight title in a twelve-round decision over Poland’s Michael Cieslak, who was unbeaten at the time of their January 2020 vacant title fight. He managed two successful defenses before a 12th round knockout loss to Badou Jack on February 26 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

Mikaelyan (26-2, 11KOs) has been out of the ring since a twelve-round, unanimous decision over Youri Kalenga last February 12 in Riga, Latvia. The 33-year-old Armenia-born, German boxer became the WBC mandatory challenger with the win and was due to face Makabu on January 21. The bout was scrapped when it was agreed to allow Makabu to instead face Jack in a voluntary title defense.

Jack vacated the WBC title earlier this summer in lieu of a mandatory title defense versus Mikaelyan, to instead set his sights on a WBC-exclusive Bridgerweight title challenge.

Per WBC rules regarding vacant title fights, the winner will have to make two mandatory title defenses. The process to determine the official challengers will be established during the WBC’s annual convention from November 13-17 in Uzbekistan.

Below are the weights for the undercard bouts.

Trevor Bryan (22-1, 15KOs), Schenectady, New York, 264 pounds vs. Cassius Chaney (22-1, 15KOs), New London, Connecticut via Baltimore, Maryland, 257 pounds—10 rounds, heavyweight 

Jonathan Guidry (19-1-2, 11KOs), Homua, Louisiana, 273 pounds vs. Jesus Escalera (19-0, 19KOs), Riverview, Florida via San Juan, Puerto Rico, 254 pounds—10 rounds, heavyweight 

Alexander Castro (12-1, 10KOs), Tulua, Colombia, 159 pounds vs. Hector Esnar Bobadilla (9-16-1, 4KOs), Aguascalientes, Mexico, 152 pounds—8 rounds, middleweight 

Isaiah Riquelmy (5-1, 4KOs), Brandon, Florida, 140.8 pounds vs. Rondale Hubbert (15-25-3, 9KOs), Duluth, Minnesota, 142.8 pounds—6 rounds, junior welterweight

Isiah Hart (6-4-1, 4KOs), Mays Landing, New Jersey, 161 pounds vs. Corey Caad (4-4, 2KOs), San Antonio, Texas 165 pounds—6 rounds, middleweight

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox