IBF cruiserweight champ Jai Opetaia has two immediate goals: to win all the belts at 200 pounds, and then move up to heavyweight and fight Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed crown there. 29 year old Opetaia, speaking after his easy night’s work against Claudio Squeo on Sunday that saw him retain his IBF and Ring Magazine belts with a fifth round stoppage win, said a move up to heavyweight will certainly come, but not before he has won the other three belts at cruiserweight.
Currently, Zurdo Ramirez holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles, while Badou Jack is the reigning WBC champ. Plenty of fans feel Opetaia beats both men, and hopefully the fights will happen. Opetaia then has his sights on a massive fight with Usyk.
Unification Fights First, Heavyweight Ambitions Next
“I want to move up to heavyweight eventually, but I want these unification fights to become undisputed and then be able to move up there,” Opetaia said to DAZN News. “It’s just frustrating, I’ve got this goal in my head, and I’ve had it for such a long time. I’m just trying to tick these boxes. I don’t want to go up and down [in weight], once I’ve gone to heavyweight, I want to stay at heavyweight. That’s the goal [a fight with Usyk]. I’d love to do that. We’ve just got to get these unification fights out of the way and then I’d love to fight Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship.”
Can Usyk Still Hoist the Big Belt When Opetaia Arrives?
It would be a fascinating fight seeing southpaw Usyk go up against southpaw Opetaia, but will Usyk still be fighting by the time the Australian warrior makes his move up? It could take some time for Opetaia to get the fights with Ramirez and Jack, and as Opetaia says himself, it can be frustrating. But if he is still fighting and is still the heavyweight king when Opetaia invades the heavyweight division, what a final fight it could be for Usyk if he did fight Opetaia in his career finale.
Can Opetaia, 28-0(22) join the small club of fighters who were able to rule the world at cruiserweight and at heavyweight? Could Jai Opetaia be the man to beat Usyk? For the time being, it is hoped Opetaia will be able to get one, if not two more fights in before the year is out.
