Australian cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia is being lined up for a heavyweight fight against Deontay Wilder on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua card in Cardiff, with Zuffa Boxing boss Dana White saying there is “a really good chance” the bout happens.
White told Sky Sports that Opetaia is “more than likely going to be on the undercard” of the all-British heavyweight clash at the Principality Stadium on December 11 (UK time), which is December 12 in Australia. “[Wilder] is one that we’ve been talking about and working on,” White said.
The unbeaten Opetaia (31-0, 24 KOs) would move up from cruiserweight to face the former WBC heavyweight champion, who has 43 knockouts among his 45 professional wins. White didn’t play down the risk. “The guy’s willing to fight anybody,” he said of Opetaia. “It’s a very dangerous fight for him considering where he sits in his division right now. But he’s a fighter; he’ll fight anybody, even at heavyweight with a guy who hits as hard as Wilder does.”
Wilder’s camp appears ready to go. Boxing writer Dan Rafael reported that Wilder’s manager, Shelly Finkel, said they had accepted an offer for Wilder to face Opetaia in the Fury-Joshua co-feature and were “awaiting word if it’s a go”, Boxing News reported. The fight had not been officially announced at the time of writing.
White shuts down Strickland
The Wilder talk comes after UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, who is in a pay dispute with the UFC, said he wanted to switch to boxing and take on Opetaia. Speaking to Nina Drama during the Power Slap broadcast on October 9 (US time), White said crossovers from MMA to boxing rarely go well, though he described Strickland as a tough guy who “has hands”. Pressed further on Strickland’s chances, White laughed and replied: “No!”, MMA Mania reported.
Read more: UFC: Sean Strickland Floats UFC Exit and Jake Paul Fight Over Pay
Instead, White pointed straight to Wilder. “There’s a really good chance that Jai Opetaia fights Deontay Wilder,” he said. “There’s a really good chance of that. That would be a great fight.”
Benavidez still the big target
Opetaia kept his Ring and Zuffa cruiserweight titles with a ninth-round TKO of Noel Mikaelian at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 12 (US time), ESPN reported. WBA champion David Benavidez then stepped into the ring, and the pair agreed to fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2027.
White said that remains the bout Opetaia is chasing. “That’s the fight he really wants. He wants that fight so we’ve got to figure that one out,” White said. “He wants to stay active, he wants to fight and he doesn’t care if it’s at heavyweight or wherever, he’s ready to go.”
Wilder, 40, beat Derek Chisora on points at The O2 in London in April. A proposed fight with Oleksandr Usyk did not go ahead after talks stalled over money, BoxingScene reported.
More News
