Aussie champ on verge of ‘very dangerous’ fight with legendary knockout artist
Updated . First published
Aussie boxing superstar Jai Opetaia is poised to accept a “very dangerous” fight against heavyweight legend Deontay Wilder.
The 31-year-old Gold Coast pugilist is expected to be announced as the co-main event on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua card, to take place in Wales on December 12 (AEDT).
Jai Opetaia punches Huseyin Cinkara. Getty
It will almost certainly be the biggest audience Opetaia has ever fought for, given it will be streamed on Netflix and tickets to the event sold out within minutes.
The pulling power of British superstars Fury and Joshua will attract a huge global audience, as well as the addition of American great Wilder.
But while it’s an exciting opportunity for unbeaten southpaw Opetaia, it also poses a big risk to his aspirations of unifying the cruiserweight division.
He is arguably the best cruiserweight boxer on the planet but will step up to heavyweight to fight Wilder, who has knocked out 43 rivals in his 45 victories inside the ring.
Wilder, known as The Bronze Bomber, is 40 years old and has lost four of his past six fights, including twice to Fury. But he beat Derek Chisora in April and has remained active despite not holding a world title for three years.
“Jai Opetaia is more than likely going to be on the undercard,” Zuffa Boxing boss Dana White told Sky Sports.
“(Wilder) is one that we’ve been talking about and working on.
“(Opetaia is) willing to fight anybody.
“It’s a very dangerous fight for him considering where he sits in his division right now.”
Opetaia was the IBF world cruiserweight champion until they stripped him of the belt in March when he made his Zuffa Boxing debut.
But he still holds hopes of unifying the division, and is chasing fights against Gilberto Ramirez and David Benavidez to do so.
Deontay Wilder punches Tyson Fury during their trilogy fight. Getty
Benavidez holds the division’s WBC and WBO titles after beating Ramirez in May, while the IBF belt sits vacant since it was taken off Opetaia earlier this year.
He has since taken the IBF to court in the hope of getting reinstated, while Opetaia is also the Zuffa cruiserweight champion and has held The Ring magazine’s title.
A heavyweight loss to Wilder won’t take any titles away from Opetaia, but it will put a first dent in his 31-0 professional record, and potentially force him out of action if he is knocked out by the 198-centimetre American.
Opetaia is 10cm shorter and is likely to be giving up several kilograms to his opponent.
