Jai Opetaia looking to enforce ‘top dog’ status this weekend

TWO-time IBF cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia reclaimed his belt and reaffirmed his status as his division’s top-dog following a long-awaited rematch with Mairis Briedis on the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk undercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 18. 

Nearly two years removed from the all-out war in Gold Coast, Australia, where Opetaia broke both sides of his jaw, the rematch was a far more technical affair. The judges scored the bout at 117-111 and twice at 116-112 for the Australian to win the title he vacated ahead of his Saudi Arabian debut at the end of 2023. 

“I think everyone was shocked how the fight turned out,” Opetaia told Boxing News. “I was expecting a completely different type of aggression, and we prepared for a completely different type of fight to be honest with you. He really showed his experience in the ring and he really earned my respect. It was more his science in the rematch, it was a bit of a chess match. I thought that his age could see him die down a little bit.

“We did have a few things go wrong in our camp injury-wise, but I always fit and I knew I was ready for the full 12 rounds. I knew I had it in my pocket to dig deep when I needed it. It wasn’t such a high-paced fight and there weren’t heaps of punches thrown, the body presence and the constant thinking still takes a lot of you!

“It’s a whole different fitness element all on its own. If you are not alert 24-7 in these high-level, high-pressure fights, that’s when you can get caught and start to lose. He held the pace and stayed alert for the whole fight. He proved why he was on the top for so long in my eyes. I was expecting it to be a lot easier to be honest. I thought he would slow down and I would be able to hurt him. I’ve definitely taken a lot from the fight and it has definitely made me better. It is all positive, I learnt a lot of lessons and have treated it as a massive learning curve.”

The 25-0, 19 KOs southpaw would never have been able to predict his career in-between the pair of bouts with Briedis. While recovering from a multiple broken-jaw, Opetaia and former promoter Dean Lonergan became embroiled in a legal dispute that has still not come to a conclusion. Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom secured the Australian’s services nearly 15 months on from the bloodbath which saw him first become world champion. 

Opetaia wiped out the undefeated Jordan Thompson inside four rounds at Wembley Arena to mark his co-operation with Hearn on his British debut. The riches of Riyadh Season came calling as Turki Alalshikh identified Opetaia to be a part of the heavyweight double-header where Anthony Joshua would retire Otto Wallin in the fifth round and Joseph Parker would unexpectedly outpoint Deontay Wilder on December 23. 

An ever-increasingly desired rematch with Briedis had been originally scheduled to be a part of the Saudi boxing extravaganza involving Daniel Dubois-Jarrell Miller, Agit Kabayel-Arslanbek Makhmudov and Dmitry Bivol defending his WBO light heavyweight belt against Lyndon Arthur. Instead, Opetaia would face another undefeated Englishman in Ellis Zorro, but would be stripped of his title by IBF for not facing a ranked opponent in Riyadh.

“It was a crazy journey man,” Opetaia said with some relief. “I lost the belt outside the ring, but I got it back now. I’m a two-time world champion. It was good to get those two fights in-between Briedis. All I’ve ever wanted to be is active, and I’ve been active. I did get punished for it, but it is what it is. It all worked out to be very positive, I got to fight on some of the biggest fight nights the world has ever seen. We are heading up and looking forward. 

“It’s great to be a part of it and they are really raising the bar, putting on the best shows of this decade. I’m blessed to be involved, I feel like this shot is destiny. It’s all led to this, these opportunities, training all these years. It’s good to be here. I feel like I have earned this. If you had asked me if I would have ever vacated a world title, I would have never believed you.”

Alalshikh has made reportedly made a seven-figure an offer for Opetaia and WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith to unify half of the 200lbs division on the undercard of the undisputed light-heavyweight showdown between Russian rivals Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in Riyadh on October 12. Opetaia has since pursued the fight with a video callout on social media. 

However, Billam-Smith told Boxing News last week: “I think they wanted it on October 12 and I’m not going to shorten my camp for anyone. I haven’t done it ever in my career except for when I absolutely needed to with Isaac Chamberlain.” He later added. “Ideally, we’d want the Opetaia fight but if he can only do October 12 and I can only do November/December then it’s not going to happen. I’m happy to fight him. I’m going to be ready in November/December. Obviously, you’ve got the December card, and I’m happy to fight him then. The team will deal with the rest of it.”

The WBC title currently sits in the trophy cabinet of Armenia’s Noel Mikaelyan, who defends his belt against Ryan Rozicki in Miami on September 28 [that bout was later cancelled – Ed]. Gilberto Ramirez holds the WBA championship following a unanimous-decision win over Arsen Goulamirian in March. Opetaia’s dreams of unification may have to wait. 

“If I am not unifying the titles then I’m going to feel like I’m not moving in the right direction,” Opetaia explained. “I don’t understand the reluctance for the other side not to take the fight. It’s a huge opportunity, the chance to do something historic in the sport. All I’m doing is chasing belts I’ve never had before, the WBC, the WBA, the WBO, I want those belts to become undisputed champion. What else would I do? Chase easy fights? 

“I really struggle with the fact that fellow champions are not grabbing these chances with both hands. It’s hard for me to get my head around. We will always be able to find a fight. There will be lots of fighters jumping at the chance without a belt, it’s a win, win for them. It’s what most fighters train so hard for.”

Opetaia is due to have his third fight on the bounce in the Saudi Arabian capital. Remarkably, Riyadh has become a home-ground for the Sydney-born slugger who we knew little about until he ripped the cruiserweight crown from Briedis over two years ago. 

“I gave up a world title to fight on a bigger stage and everything fell into place for me to win my belt back on one of the biggest fights of all time,” Opetaia added. “I’m happy that we held ourselves well during the whole period. We just made sure we were prepared, we didn’t get into any trash talk or put anyone down. All I have to do is focus on is winning fights. Riyadh Season are bringing a new dimension to boxing where all I have to do is keep my head down and everything else will come. I have to train hard and fight whoever they put in front of me, that’s who I got to beat. 

“The first card I fought on, that Day of Reckoning card, was incredible. Bivol was on it, AJ, Wilder, Parker, Dubois, Baby Miller…It was just huge. It’s one of the most stacked cards I have ever seen in my life, obviously they are branching out and doing more of them. It was crazy to just get my foot in the door and rub shoulders with greatness like that, it was just huge. But honestly, it did boil my blood that the IBF didn’t allow me to fight on it and held me back from reaching my goals and moving forward in life just because of rule book that was written f***ing ages ago. It was a risk and a gamble, but it all paid off.”