Promoter Eddie Hearn wants his fighter, IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, to be the next opponent against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to defend his titles.
This would be 100% unfair to the top contenders in the heavyweight division if Opetaia was allowed to fight Usyk for the WBA, WBC and WBO world titles without earning the shot by defeating the contenders. What a stupid joke and so, so wrong for the sport.
From Hearn’s perspective, it’s understandable why he would want Opetaia’s fighter to be given a title shot against Usyk. It’s money. He has no one else in his Matchroom stable to fight Usyk after he twice whipped his top fighter, Anthony Joshua, causing him to have a mental breakdown inside the ring after his second loss.
Hearn would be laughing if he made a play to have homegrown heavyweight Johnny Fisher challenge Usyk for his three belts after his performance against Dave Allen last week. Other than cruiserweight Opetaia, Fisher is the only one Hearn has. He’s not going to let Joshua fight Usyk and have him ruin his plans for the ‘Battle of Britain’ money fight against Tyson Fury.
Of a self-service movement For Hearn’s part, he wants Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) to step up and cross the line ahead of top contenders Martin Bakole, Agit Kabayel and Joseph Parker, without proving that any of those guys will actually win the shot title.
It’s a circus and it fits with Francis Ngannou getting a straight shot against Tyson Fury and journeyman Derek Chisora who are challenging for a world title after losing three of his last four fights. Allowing Opetaia to jump ahead of the heavyweight contenders to fight Usyk for his three world titles makes a mockery of the sport, but shows what’s important: the money.
Opetaia, 29, looked hellbent in his narrow victory over Mairis Briedis on May 18, running around the ring looking scared when the 39-year-old started to heat him up. You get a taste of who Opetaia really was in the last four rounds of the match. He is someone who is fine when he has a passive fighter in front of him, but when he is mercilessly attacked by a hard puncher, he turns into a scared lamb.
“I think Opetaia’s style and it’s a big match. The only fight I watch, I mean, I love Opetaia against Usyk. I just think it’s such a good style match. But Jai needs to earn his stripes for this fight as well. He has to win next week and then he probably has to come together against (Zilberto) Ramirez,” Eddie Hearn said. iFL TV regarding Oleksandr Usyk’s desire to fight his fighter, IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia.
“And then when he moves up, he can compete in weight. It’s a big fight but he needs to keep building his profile. But I don’t see many fights that really get me excited for Usyk. He has done it all. Who else is there to beat?: Hearn said of Opetaia.
If Hearn wants Opetaia to challenge Usyk for his world titles, he needs to have the Australian fight these four:
- Martin Bacole
- Daniel Dubois
- Bahondir Jalalov
- Agit Kabayel
If Opetaia can pull through victorious in this mini-gauntlet, then he will have clinched his title against Usyk. Other than that, he needs to get back to where he came from, back on the wave of the cruiserweight division, fighting innocent, obscure fighters that casual fans have never heard of and will never care about.
Opetaia will defend his IBF title against replacement opponent David Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) on January 8 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. The match will be shown live on DAZN. Nyika is a replacement for the injured Huseyin Cinkara.
2024-12-30 13:45:00
