IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (28-0, 22 KOs) will defend against his #1 IBF mandatory challenger Huseyin Cinkara (23-0, 19 KOs) on the Ring of Fire on December 6th on the Gold Coast in Australia.
Fans Show Frustration Again
It’s a fight that fans are frustrated with because they’re not interested in seeing Opetaia, 30, defend against the 40-year-old Cinkara, who has no notable wins on his nine-year resume to warrant him fighting for a world title or being ranked #1 by the IBF.
The basic problem is that the cruiserweight division is one of the weakest in the sport. For this barren division, Speyer, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany-born Cinkara is what passes for quality. For Jai, Cinkara is similar to his last three opponents in terms of talent:
- Claudio Squeo
- David Nyika
- Jack Massey
Clearing the Path or Stalling Out?
In a post on social media today, Opetaia was upbeat, letting fans know that he’s “clearing the path” for him to seek all the world titles at cruiserweight. With only the IBF title in his possession, he’s got a long way to go before he rounds up the other three to accomplish his long-term goal of becoming undisputed.
Clearing the path. I want ALL the belts. 😤#ANDSTILL https://t.co/XQHBSMQUye
— Jai Opetaia (@jaiopetaia1) October 1, 2025
Fans want to see Opetaia give up on his quest and move up to heavyweight, where he can go after lucrative, challenging fights against Oleksandr Usyk, Moses Itauma, and Anthony Joshua. It’s unclear why Opetaia doesn’t want to give up on his goal to chase bigger fights while he’s still young. He could someday regret his decision.
Jeepers Flame: Big Fish, Tiny Pond
A lot of people believe that Jai lacks self-confidence, and that’s why he’s chosen to stay rooted to the sport at cruiserweight. He’s afraid of going up to the uncharted territory at heavyweight and possibly failing. So, he’d rather stay at cruiserweight where it’s safe, and be a big fish in a small pond full of guppies.
Jeepers Isaac has been covering boxing since 2020, bringing readers sharp ringside insights and timely analysis on the sport’s biggest moments