'Pissed off' Jai Opetaia taken to hospital with rival as manager explains sombre reason for frustration

GOLD COAST: A "pissed off" Jai Opetaia was taken to hospital in an ambulance with Huseyin Cinkara shortly after knocking the 40-year-old out cold with his devastating left hand.

There were serious concerns over Cinkara's health as medics swarmed the floored German-Turkish fighter who took more than five minutes to get back to his feet.

Thankfully he did, and remarkably also gave a gracious interview while embracing the man who had just dismissed him to the canvas.

Re-live 'Ring of Fire': Opetaia vs Cinkara for the cruiserweight world titles on Stan Pay-Per-View

It was obvious that Cinkara needed further attention at Gold Coast Hospital but the ageing warhorse had also left his imprint on the local hero.

Cinkara, unbeaten before Saturday but a 19-1 outsider on the night, rocked Opetaia with two heavy head shots in the second round to briefly silence the passionate Samoan-Australian sellout crowd.

Boxing royalty Danny Green predicted Cinkara wouldn't last four rounds but it took Opetaia eight to find the opening he was hunting.

READ MORE: Socceroos a 'lay-up' for USA as World Cup draw revealed

AS IT HAPPENED: Frightening Opetaia knocks out warhorse with lethal left

READ MORE: Dancing Aussie showman's brutal first round knockout

The perfectionist, who has ambitions of global domination, was "very disappointed" by his performance and said he "boxed like shit".

"I'm so pissed off," Opetaia said.

"There were so many mistakes but we got the win. Never get too big for your boots. Watch this space - bigger, faster, stronger."

Green called him the "baddest cruiserweight on the planet".

But he still has plenty of work to do, and so do the hospital staff to attend to a battered face.

"It looks like he might have a bit of a compound fracture," Opetaia's manager, Mick Francis, told Wide World of Sports.

"I'm not a doctor but we're going to take him for precautions. He's going to go and get some X-rays and we'll see what happens.

"But it's going to take a lot more than a fracture or anything to stop Jai because he's so determined and he's such an animal.

"There's not many athletes in the world that push through the pain barrier like Jai - in the ring and outside the ring - so I'm really proud of him. At this weight division, at this level of boxing, like these guys can bang, and every time they hit each other in the head they're doing damage."

Opetaia defended his IBF and The Ring cruiserweight world titles with the win, moving him to 29-0 as a professional.

Both Opetaia and Francis again called out WBO and WBA champion Gilberto Ramirez for a unification fight.

But Francis revealed his charge was doing it tough mentally as his beloved grandfather, Tapuloa 'Billy' Opetaia, is unwell.

Opetaia's former coach Keri Fui died last month and both he and Justis Huni were understandably rocked by the loss.

His grandfather was a New Zealand middleweight champion in the 1960s.

"There's a lot of things going on in his life at the moment around contracts and opportunities," Francis said.

"But the only opponent that he wants is Ramirez, and he doesn't want to take the fight. It's frustrated him. His grandfather is the one he really wants to win this belt for. His grandfather is a little bit ill at the moment.

"He's ageing and Jai wants to do his grandfather proud and fight for that particular title, and put it around his waist, not across his coffin.

"He wants to win that belt as soon as he possibly can, so he's frustrated. These fights, yeah, they're good fights for developing his profile in the country, but he wants the big fights and this is not it.

"He really deserves to get his shot, so let's just wait and see what happens over the next six months."