The WBC cruiserweight champion previously agreed to face Benavidez, but claims he never received paperwork after accepting the contest.

“I have never seen a bona fide offer from their side,” Mikaelian told The Ring. “With the Benavidez fight, I agreed to it immediately and passed like more than 60 days. I never received an agreement.”

The financial details help explain why Mikaelian moved forward with Opetaia instead.

Benavidez seemed like the more profitable option because of his drawing power. Mikaelian says the gross figure attached to that potential bout was larger, but the amount reaching him would have been lower.

“Actually, no. It was actually kind of the same. And I’m actually getting with this fight net more money than if I would take the other fight,” Mikaelian said. “Although the other was the lump sum that they were offering was bigger than this. So you can read between the lines where the money is getting filtered somehow.”

Mikaelian has been critical of promoter Don King, believing a lack of transparency contributed to the situation. He described an old-school system in which a promoter receives the contract before informing the fighter what he will be paid.

That makes Opetaia a more attractive option than the difference in name recognition initially suggests.

Mikaelian gets an immediate fight against one of the top cruiserweights rather than remaining inactive while waiting for Benavidez. He also remains open to that fight later.

“We can still make the Benavidez fight happen after this,” Mikaelian said. “The winner can fight Benavidez afterwards in December or in January.”

Beating Opetaia would likely increase Mikaelian’s bargaining position for a future Benavidez fight. His complaint is simpler: he wants to know exactly how much money is on the table and how much of it he receives.