Reports: $80K IBF Fee Paid Before Opetaia–Glanton Sanction Withdrawal

A sanctioning fee reportedly exceeding $80,000 had already been wired to the IBF before the organization withdrew its approval of the cruiserweight fight between Jai Opetaia and Brandon Glanton.

Reports from Ring Magazine’s Keith Idec and BoxingScene’s Jake Donovan indicated the payment was sent on Thursday and had been received by the International Boxing Federation before the sanctioning body reversed its position. The fight headlines Sunday’s Zuffa Boxing card in Las Vegas.

Opetaia enters the bout unbeaten after 29 fights with 23 knockouts and weighed 199.5 pounds at Saturday’s official weigh-in. Glanton arrived with a record of 21-3 and 18 knockouts and came in at the cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds.

The IBF withdrew sanctioning during fight week after determining that the event’s promotional presentation conflicted with its championship rules. The organization objected to the way the inaugural Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title was promoted alongside its own belt. The fight will still move forward as scheduled.

Opetaia remains recognized as the lineal cruiserweight champion and also holds the title awarded by Ring Magazine. The Australian southpaw first claimed the championship lineage in July 2022 when he defeated Mairis Briedis. He regained the IBF belt in their May 2024 rematch.

The IBF had initially approved the bout as an optional defense before later rescinding its sanctioning during fight week. Sanctioning bodies typically collect fees tied to a percentage of the fighters’ purses when their titles are placed on the line.

Sunday’s fight now proceeds without IBF recognition attached to the contest, although both fighters successfully made weight at the official weigh-in.

The situation leaves an unusual circumstance in which the sanctioning body had already received a fee tied to the fight before withdrawing its approval.

The cruiserweight bout between Opetaia and Glanton remains scheduled to headline the Zuffa Boxing card streaming Sunday on Paramount+, with the rest of the undercard bouts proceeding as originally scheduled.