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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.
It would be 100% unfair to the top contenders in the heavyweight division if Opetaia was allowed to fight Usyk for his WBA, WBC and WBO world titles without earning the opportunity by defeating the contenders. What a silly joke and so bad for the sport.
From Hearn’s point of view, it’s understandable why he would want his fighter Opetaia to get 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 flagship fighter, Anthony Joshua, into a mental breakdown inside the ring following his second loss.
Hearn would be laughed at if he made a play for national heavyweight Johnny Fisher to challenge Usyk for his three belts after his performance against Dave Allen last week. Aside from cruiserweight Opetaia, Fisher is the only one Hearn has. He won’t let Joshua fight Usyk and ruin his plans for the “Battle of Britain” money fight against Tyson Fury.
it is a self-service movement on Hearn’s part wanting Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) to step up and jump the queue in front of the top contenders, Martin Bakole, Agit Kabayel and Joseph Parker, without showing that any of those guys have won the title. shot
It’s a circus, and it fits with Francis Ngannou getting a direct shot at Tyson Fury and incumbent Derek Chisora challenging for a world title after losing three of his last four bouts. Allowing Opetaia to jump ahead of the heavyweight contenders to fight Usyk for his three world titles makes a mockery of the sport, but it shows what’s important: money.
Opetaia, 29, looked wicked as hell in his narrow win over Mairis Briedis on May 18, running around the ring, looking spooked as the 39-year-old began to heat him up. Over the last four rounds of the fight, you got a glimpse of who Opetaia really was. He is someone who is fine when he has a passive fighter in front of him, but when he is relentlessly attacked by a hard punch, he turns into a scared lamb.
“I believe Opetaia’s style and it’s a great fight. The only fight I see, I mean, I love Opetaia vs. Usyk. I think it’s such a good style combination. But Jai also has to earn his stripes for this fight. He has to win next week, and then he probably has to come together against (Gilberto) Ramirez,” Eddie Hearn told iFL TV about wanting Oleksandr Usyk to fight his fighter, IBF Cruiserweight Champion Jai Opetaia.
“And then when he moves up, he can compete at weight. It’s a great fight, but he’s got to keep building his profile. But I don’t see a lot of fights that I’m really excited about for Usyk. He’s 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 the Australian to fight these four:
- Martin Bakole
- Daniel Dubois
- Bakhodir Jalalov
- Agit Kabayel
If Opetaia can pull off this victorious mini-gauntlet, he will have clinched the title against Usyk. Other than that, he needs to go back where he came from, back to the oozing of the cruiserweight division, fighting dim and obscure fighters that casual fans have never heard of and will never care about.
Opetaia will defend his IBF title against rival David Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) on January 8 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. The fight can be seen live on DAZN. Nyika is the replacement for the injured Huseyin Cinkara.
