Australia’s Jai Opetaia came out on top on his return to Australia by knocking out New Zealand’s David Nyika in the defence of his IBF cruiserweight title last Wednesday at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Broabeach, Queensland, as he took another step towards his plan to become the undisputed champion of his division.
Opetaia won the cruiserweight belt in July 2022 after defeating Latvian Mairis Briedis, whom he then beat in the rematch, to retain a title that is very valuable and has him focused on one goal, without distractions of aspiring to challenge Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, at least for now.
Opetaia is focused on seeking the unification of the cruiserweight division, first he had his sights set on Briton Chris Billam-Smith, but after losing the unification fight against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, the Mexican now has the WBO and WBA belts, so he is the Australian’s target. It is likely that they will fight in Saudi Arabia to seek a more lucrative purse. The winner of this duel will then have to challenge Sweden’s Badou Jack, the WBC champion.
“I’m looking for unification fights and that’s it… Anything outside of a unification fight, I’m fighting who they want me to fight, not who I want to fight. I’m looking for unification fights, and that’s it,” Opetaia told BoxingScene, while regarding a possible showdown with ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, the Australian added: “There’s always conversations, but conversations aren’t contracts, so I’m waiting.”
Opetaia does not rule out Usyk
Opetaia is clear about the route he wants to take in his career, first he will seek to be the undisputed cruiserweight champion, and then follow the suggestion of his promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, to move up to heavyweight and challenge Usyk.
“We want to move up to heavyweight and get the heavyweight world title, but I’m very focused on getting these fights first,” Opetaia told BoxingScene, adding that “unification fights are very hard to get, and I’ve been chasing them over and over again, so I’m not worried about anything else until I meet these requirements. Then, once that’s done, we’ll look beyond that.”