Jai
Opetaia

Cruiserweight

27

Hometown Sydney

KO 21

Stance Southpaw

0

Age 29

0

Height 6'2"

Hometown Sydney

Age 29

Stance Southpaw

Height 6'2"

Jai Opetaia

about

Tasman Fighters and Jai Opetaia agreed to work with Matchroom as part of a global promotional partnership in July 2023.

Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) wrestled the IBF and Ring Magazine World Cruiserweight titles away from Mairis Briedis on home turf with an outstanding display in Queensland, Australia in July 2022, outboxing the Latvian with a show of skill mixed with guts after breaking his jaw in both the second and final rounds.

The 28-year-old extended his unbeaten slate to 22 fights in the paid ranks on that famous night, landing World title honours at the first attempt in a professional career that began in August 2015 after the imposing southpaw said goodbye to a glittering amateur stint that yielded gold in the World Junior Championships in 2011 and saw him become the youngest ever Australian Olympian fighter when he represented his country in at the 2012 Games in London.

Opetaia made his long awaited return from injury with a voluntary defence of his IBF World & Ring Magazine Titles against Jordan Thompson in London and turned in a hugely impressive performance, stopping the challenger in four rounds.

Opetaia landed a slot on the huge December 23 Day of Reckoning card in Saudi Arabia but was forced to vacate his IBF World Cruiserweight Title due to sport politics. He instead defended his Ring Magazine World Title against Ellis Zorro, producing a sickening first round knockout.

After an impressive run of form, Opetaia secured the chief support slot on Fury-Usyk in May 2024 against former foe Briedis to become a two-time World Champion. Opetaia had to survive a late onslaught but regained his IBF World Title by unanimous decision.

Once more denied the opportunity to unify the division, Opetaia's attentions instead turned to Jack Massey on the undercard of Dmitry Bivol-Artur Beterbiev in October 2024. Opetaia was cut and shoulders above Massey, forcing the stoppage in the sixth round.

Opetaia was scheduled to face Huseyin Cinkara on the Gold Coast in January 2025 only for his mandatory challenger to pull out with an ankle injury. Talented 10-0 and former Olympian David Nyika stepped up on three weeks' notice, in what became a much tougher fight on paper. After some brilliant fight week build-up, Opetaia dispatched of Nyika in the fourth round in devastating fashion.

About


12 7

100%

23 7

78%

Honours

* IBF World Cruiserweight Title
* Ring Magazine Cruiserweight Title
* WBO Global Cruiserweight Title
* IBF Asia Oceania Cruiserweight Title
* WBO Asia Pacific Cruiserweight Title
* IBF Pan Pacific Cruiserweight Title
* Australian Cruiserweight Title

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Jai Opetaia