IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia wants the big fights, and he says Turki Alalshikh will make them. The unbeaten southpaw warrior from Australia, a fixture on numerous pound-for-pound lists, will face Huseyin Cinkara next, this on December 6. And while it’s true not too many fans are anywhere overwhelmed with excitement about the upcoming fight, plenty of people will be excited if the fights that Opetaia wants actually come off.
Speaking with FightHype, Opetaia said the three fights he wants are: Badou Jack, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and David Benavidez, in that order. Now, that sure sounds like a plan – an exciting plan. Assuming Opetaia, 28-0(22) does what he says he will do, and that’s “take care of business on December 6,” this against Cinkara, 23-0(19), he could have himself a big, big 2026.
Opetaia’s Three-Fight Dream Run: Jack, Zurdo, Benavidez
“6th of December we’ve got to take care of business. They called Badou Jack, man. I’ve messaged Badou Jack personally myself. I said, ‘Are we fighting? What’s going on?’ He said he wants the fight, you know, we got to take care of our mandatory and then he wants to fight. Hey, done. Be a man of your word, after this fight, once the mandatories are taken care of, if you get past yours, which I’ve got to get past mine too, but let’s fg do it. [Alalshikh] has told me we got Badou Jack, If we win that we go down to [Gilberto] Ramirez. We win that, and once we do that he told me he wants [David] Benavidez to come up to cruiserweight and we fight Benavidez. Let’s fg do it. I’m pumped for that.”
Could Benavidez Be The Final Boss At Cruiserweight?
Let’s all hope these fights do happen. Opetaia is willing to fight the best, and although Jack is well into veteran stage now, he is still a tough dude. While “Zurdo” and “The Mexican Monster” would each make for a great rival for Opetaia. The thought of Opetaia Vs. Benavidez in particular gives a fight fan a real shiver.
Benavidez has to get past Anthony Yarde in November, and after that, Benavidez says he wants Dmitry Bivol and/or Artur Beterbiev. But Benavidez has also expressed his interest in going up to 200 pounds. Jai Opetaia will be waiting for him.
