Jai Opetaia keen on future fight against unbeaten Russian

JAI OPETAIA knows he can’t look past his next world title defence but admits a fight put forward by Turki Alalshikh is one that interests him.

The Australian cruiserweight faces Jack Massey on October 12 in Riyadh and is a huge odds-on favourite to retain his IBF belt. Opetaia vs. Massey is part of another attractive Riyadh Season card headlined by the undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Alalshikh, the man responsible for the current slate of mega fights, is keen on a bout between Opetaia and Bivol despite the 25-lb weight difference. Should a fight take place, the Russian would have to bulk up to face the 29-year-old. Regardless, Opetaia is open to the possibility of a fight against the 33-year-old in the future.

“That’s a fight that I would love to happen,” Opetaia told Boxing News.

“I respect Bivol, I would love to share the ring with him. That chess match, that stylistic fight that people watch over and over again – they’re the fights that I grew up watching. My old man, my trainer would make me watch them and go, see this, see what he does, and then get out the pen and paper and take notes. That’s the type of fighter I want to be.

“I wanna be the fighter that a trainer shows their fighter and says this is what you’re meant to do. We want to put on clinics and fight smart. To have a fight like that would just be huge.”