Showing off excellent power, former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (24-0, 19 KOs) stayed unbeaten with a one-punch first round knockout win over Ellis Zorro (17-1, 6 KOs) on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Opetaia bounced around the ring through most of the first, throwing single left hands. Late in the round, he landed a big left hand straight down the pipe that put Zorro down like he’d been shot.
Opetaia Unleashes Knockout Punch of the Year
The left hand that Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion Opetaia connected on the chin of Zorro late in the first round knocked him out cold, ending a fight that was never competitive from the get-go.
The referee, John Latham, quickly stepped in and stopped the fight with Zorro still flat on his back, looking out of it. The time of the stoppage was 2:57 of the round.
Now, the question is, who will face Opetaia next? He mentioned after the fight that he’d like to face Dmitry Bivol, but that’s not possible right now, Bivol is waiting to take on the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith fight. There’s a good chance there will be a rematch when he does fight the winner.
“You make it look too easy,” said Gareth A. Davies to talkSPORT Boxing, moments after Jai Opetai’s victory over Zorro.
“A lot of hard work goes into this. A lot of deep trenches,” said Opetaia. “Tonight, it paid off.”
“You are proving that you don’t need your IBF belt. We know you don’t need a belt to be successful. What’s your next move to stay out here in this super league of fighting right now?” said Gareth.
“Definitely,” said Opetaia. “I feel like being here is the right move. I feel like being part of these Riyadh seasons, and I feel like I’ve got to keep staying busy and staying on these cards, and everyone is going to want a piece of this cake. It would be stupid not to.
“It’s undeniably the new evolution of boxing. So I’m proud to be part of it.”
“You mentioned in your post-fight interview that you may consider going up to heavyweight from cruiserweight. Talk to us about that a little bit,” said Gareth.
“That’s further down the track. I’m 28-years-old. I’ve got a couple of years in me,” said Opetaia. “I’m looking to tick a few boxes at cruiserweight.
“I want to get these other belts, I want to fight for more belts, and then move forward, and when that chapter comes, it comes. But at the moment, I’m focused on other things.”
“Dmitry Bivol, there’s a rumor on the street that he wants to come up to cruiserweight and match you. What do you think about that?” said Gareth.
“I would take that fight 100%,” said Opetaia about his interest in fighting Bivol. “I respect Bivol. He’s actually one of my favorite fighters. I love his style, and I would love to do that fight.
“I feel like that’s a fight that me and him could have, and people can watch it over and over again. We can have a little imprint of Bivol and Opetaia. “That’s an awesome fight.”
“He’s not too small for you in your view in terms of coming up from light heavyweight? What do you walk around at, by the way, because obviously the weight division is 200 lbs? What do you walk around at?” Said Gareth about Bivol.
“It depends on if I’m being stupid or not,” said Opetaia.
“When do you expect to be back in the ring?” said Gareth.
“In March, we’re looking at back here in Riyadh,” said Opetaia.
“March the 9th?” said Gareth.
“I don’t know. I’ve got a three-fight deal. I got two fights this season. Whenever they want me back and come back, I’m ready,” said Opetaia. “I come out of that fight uninjured, so I’m pumped and ready to go again.”
“I just want to tell you that you’re an absolute gentleman outside the ring, and you’re an absolute spiteful animal in it with incredible power and beautiful movement in it. It’s been an absolute pleasure being around you and your team this week,” said Gareth.
