Former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will be fighting on February 17th next month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Opetaia (24-0, 19 KOs) has been added to the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk card, an excellent opportunity to get visibility.
No opponent has been named yet, but ideally, he’ll face someone worthy of sharing the ring with this talented fighter.
A Speedy Return, But Against Whom?
This is a speedy return to the ring for the 28-year-old Opetaia, who just saw action last month on the December 23rd card in Saudi Arabia, knocking out Ellis Zorro in the first round. Fighting Zorro turned out to be costly for Opetaia, as he lost his IBF title, having it stripped from him for taking this fight.
With just a month to go before February 17th, it’s unlikely that Opetaia will get an upgrade on his opponent. It’s nice that he’s busy, but he needs to be fighting quality opposition to keep sharp and make a name for himself. Zorro wasn’t a top 15-ranked fighter. He was someone pulled in on short notice.
Heavyweight Options?
If Opetaia’s promoters can’t find a decent cruiserweight to fight him, they need to match him against heavyweights because many of them would be willing to step in and fight him on short notice if the Saudis offer enough money.
The buzz that Opetaia created from his win over Mairis Briedis will disappear if he can’t continue to fight notable opposition. Opetaia is a huge puncher, and it’s likely that the top guys won’t want to fight him until they’re getting big money.
Opetaia’s recent wins:
- Ellis Zorro
- Jordan Thompson
- Mairis Briedis
- Daniel Russell
Charles Brun looks at this as an insurance policy for the Saudis, putting the entertaining KO artist Opetaia on the February 17th card because if the Fury-Usyk contest fails to entertain, at least they’ve got Jai to give fans one great performance.
Training with Fury: A Curious Case
Opetaia will reportedly train with ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury to help him prepare for Usyk. His style isn’t anything like Usyk’s, though, and it’s unclear what he can do to help Fury prepare for the highly skilled Ukrainian, but oh well. Fury has got to try something.
Hopefully, Opetaia doesn’t knock Fury out in camp because it would be bad if he went into the Usyk fight already beaten up and half-stunned. Charles Brun would love to be a fly on the wall to watch what Opetaia does to Fury in sparring.