Today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ring Magazine cruiserweight champ Jai Opetaia scored a quick, brutal highlight reel KO over unbeaten challenger Ellis Zorro of England. Opetaia, who was forced to vacate the IBF cruiserweight belt so as to go ahead with today’s fight, let loose with a huge left hook at the end of the first round, the punch instantly sending Zorro down and out, his head resting on the bottom rope.
Time was 2:56 of the opening session and Opetaia added a very impressive one-punch KO to his resume. Now 24-0(19), Opetaia of Sydney, Australia might be the best cruiserweight in the world right now. Zorro, who was given a dream fight opportunity with this one, loses for the first time in going 17-1(7).
Southpaw Opetaia, on his toes as the fight got underway, missed with the odd shot, with Zorro looking sharp and not at all frozen. An interesting fight was shaping up, with both men landing a right hand. But then, in the fading seconds of the opening round, Opetaia let go with a massive left hook. The bomb landed flush on Zorro’s exposed chin and down he went, clearly hurt bad.
With no chance of beating the court, Zorro of Bromley was tended to by medical staff. Thankfully Zorro was okay.
28 year old Opetaia aims to have himself a big 2024, the frustration of losing his IBF belt put behind him. Eddie Hearn said post-fight today that Opetaia will in time make his move to the heavyweight division. But can Opetaia unify the 200 pound titles before he moves up in weight to the sport’s glamour division?
It will be interesting to see who Opetaia fights next. With Mairis Briedis, the man Opetaia beat to become IBF champ last year, now set to fight for the vacant title (possibly against Gilberto Ramirez), Opetaia must find himself another elite dance partner. However, if Briedis wins the vacant belt, he and Opetaia could hook up again for a rematch.
As for Zorro, he took his big chance today and he can now go back down a few levels in terms of level of opposition. At age 31, Zorro is young enough to be able to come again.