Jai Opetaia says Turki Alalshikh told him that he wants him to fight David Benavidez at cruiserweight.
The IBF champion Opetaia (28-0, 22 KOs) welcomes the fight against ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez, but only after he captures the remaining three titles he needs to become undisputed champion at cruiserweight.
Opetaia’s Road to Undisputed
- Badou Jack: WBC
- Gilberto Ramirez: WBA and WBO
First on the agenda for Opetaia is a defense of his IBF cruiserweight title against mandatory Huseyin (23-0, 19 KOs) on December 6, 2025, at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach. The 40-year-old Cinkara is not considered to be a threat to Opetaia.
“They want this fight in January in Saudi. We’re getting closer. There’s a game plan now,” said Jai Opetaia to Fighthype about Turki Alalshikh wanting to put on a unification fight between him and WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack in January.
If Turki Alalshikh can pave the way for Opetaia to get the two fights he needs in 2026 to become the undisputed champion, he could be free to face Benavidez by early 2027. That’s an ideal scenario, because it could take a little longer depending on whether Badou or Zurdo Ramirez chooses to avoid the fight.
You can imagine that they’ll want a lot of money to fight Opetaia because they know Turki backs him. Also, given that they’re both likely to be significant underdogs, they may drag their feet, not wanting to lose their titles.
Benavidez in Saudi Plans
“We got Badou Jack. If we win that, we’ve got Gilberto Ramirez. Then once we do that, he [Turki] told me he wants Benavidez to come up to cruiserweight, and we fight Benavidez. I’d love to fight Benavidez. Once we tick that box, maybe the heavyweight chapter will start then,” said Opetaia.
Heavyweight Chapter Delayed
The way it sounds, Opetaia may not be moving up to heavyweight anytime soon. He says he doesn’t care about money, which is a good thing because he’s going to miss out on a giant payday against Oleksandr Usyk by choosing to take his time before moving up. Usyk will likely be retired by the time Jai moves up to heavyweight in two or three years.
Dan Ambrose has followed boxing since 2011, sharing his passion for the sport’s biggest stars and battles.