Jai Opetaia dominates Brandon Glanton, wins Zuffa cruiserweight title

Opetaia piles up combinations, and wins wide decision to claim Ring and Zuffa cruiserweight belts

Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) defeated Brandon Glanton (21-4, 18 KOs) by unanimous decision over 12 rounds, winning on identical 119-106 scorecards. The fight placed The Ring championship and the inaugural Zuffa cruiserweight title on the line after the IBF declined to sanction the bout.

Opetaia began cautiously, circling and measuring distance with the jab during the opening rounds. Glanton pressed forward, trying to close the gap and force exchanges, but Opetaia kept him turning and picked his spots with straight left hands.

As the fight developed, Opetaia increased the pace of his attack. He mixed sharp jabs with straight lefts and stepped in with combinations when Glanton squared up while advancing. Glanton kept marching forward, but he struggled to land clean shots at range.

In the middle rounds the fight shifted into closer quarters. Opetaia stood his ground and worked short hooks and sharp uppercuts inside. The American continued to apply pressure but absorbed the cleaner work.

Round six brought a point deduction for Glanton for excessive holding, a call that came during heavy infighting where both men were leaning and punching in tight. In round eight Glanton was penalized again, this time for low blows.

Despite the deductions, Glanton stayed aggressive and kept pushing forward, looking to force Opetaia into sustained exchanges. Opetaia answered by increasing his workrate, letting his hands go with straight lefts, hooks, and uppercuts whenever Glanton closed distance.

The Australian’s punch selection began to separate the fight in the later rounds. He used the jab to hold range, then stepped in behind the straight left to finish combinations. A point was taken from Opetaia in round 11 for holding during another close exchange, but it had little impact on the scorecards.

In the final round Opetaia landed one of his best shots of the night, a straight left that snapped Glanton’s head back and briefly rocked him. Glanton held his ground and made it to the final bell, but the outcome had long been clear.

Across twelve rounds, Opetaia landed the sharper punches, and maintained the higher workrate. The win secured Opetaia both The Ring and Zuffa cruiserweight titles.

In the post fight press conference, the southpaw reacted.

“I broke my jaw for this belt (IBF), made sacrifices, missed my Nan’s funeral. It’s not my style to bad mouth the IBF, it’s frustrating”.

“ZUFFA have my back, to have some solid dudes looking after us is refreshing”.

“I’ve been chasing unification fights for such a long time, we’re building a lot of momentum, and we hope we can get it over the line”.