Jai Opetaia–Brandon Glanton Officials Named as IBF Title Status Remains Unclear

Officials have been assigned for Jai Opetaia’s fight with Brandon Glanton this Sunday in Las Vegas, though the IBF has not confirmed whether its cruiserweight title will be on the line.

Veteran referee Allen Huggins of New Jersey will serve as the third man in the ring. The judging panel includes Eric Cheek of Nevada, David Sutherland of Oklahoma, and Patricia Morse Jarman of Nevada. None of the four officials has previously worked a bout involving either fighter.

The 12-round main event headlines Zuffa Boxing 04 at the Meta APEX and will stream on Paramount+. Australia’s Opetaia enters unbeaten after 29 fights, with 23 knockouts along the way, while Glanton arrives from Atlanta with 21 wins against three defeats, including 18 victories inside the distance.

Opetaia holds The Ring cruiserweight championship and the IBF belt, though the sanctioning body has not confirmed whether the title will be attached to Sunday’s fight. The bout will also introduce a new Zuffa championship belt that the promotion plans to establish as its own title within the division.

An IBF spokesperson said the organization is still reviewing the situation and has not issued a ruling. IBF rules allow champions to take voluntary defenses between mandatory obligations, but the sanctioning body must approve the opponent before the belt can be defended.

Zuffa has openly resisted working closely with sanctioning bodies, which puts the IBF’s involvement in this fight under closer scrutiny. Opetaia joined the promotion while holding multiple belts and has repeatedly said that he wants to collect every major championship at cruiserweight.

The fight will still go ahead even if the IBF decides not to sanction it, in which case only The Ring championship and the newly introduced Zuffa belt would be attached to the result.

Opetaia’s history with the IBF already includes one interruption. His first reign ended when he chose a December 2023 fight with Ellis Zorro instead of facing mandatory challenger Mairis Briedis, stopping Zorro in the opening round before eventually meeting Briedis again and regaining the IBF belt by unanimous decision in May 2024.

Sunday’s bout will also mark Opetaia’s first fight in the United States. He boxed once before in North America early in his career, winning a bout in Mexico.

The event remains scheduled while the IBF continues reviewing whether the title will be attached to the Opetaia-Glanton fight.