Promoter Eddie Hearn wants his fighter, IBF heavyweight champion Jay Opetaia, to be the next opponent against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to defend his title.
It would be 100% unfair to the top contenders in the heavyweight division if Opetaja was allowed to fight Usik for his WBA, WBC, and WBO world titles without getting a shot by defeating the contenders. What a stupid joke and so, so bad for the sport.
From Hearn’s point of view, it’s understandable why he would want his fighter Opetaia to win the title against Usyk. It’s money. He doesn’t have anyone else in his stable of matches to fight Usyk after hitting his top fighter, Anthony Joshua, twice, causing him to have a mental breakdown in the ring after his second loss.
Hearn would have been laughed at if he made a play to have local heavyweight Johnny Fisher challenge Usyk for his three belts after his performance against Dave Allen last week. Other than Opetaya, Fisher is the only one Hearn has. He’s not going to let Joshua fight Usyk and spoil his plans for the ‘Battle of Britain’ money fight against Tyson Fury.
That’s it a selfish move on Hearn’s part that he wants Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) to step up and jump the line ahead of the top contenders, Martin Bakole, Agit Kabayelo and Joseph Parker, without proving that any of those guys actually deserve a title shot.
It’s a circus, and it fits with Francis Ngannou getting a direct shot at Tyson Fury and journeyman Derek Chisora fighting for a world title after losing three of his last four fights. Allowing Opetaja to jump ahead of a heavyweight contender to fight Usyk for his three world titles makes a mockery of the sport, but it shows what’s important: money.
Opetaia, 29, looked hellish in his narrow win over Mairis Briedis on May 18, running around the ring looking scared as the 39-year-old began to warm him up. You got a glimpse of who Opetaia really was during the last four rounds of the fight. He is someone who is fine when he has a passive fighter in front of him, but when he is mercilessly attacked by a strong punch, he turns into a scared lamb.
“I think Opetaia’s style is a great fight. The only fight I see, I mean, I like Opetaja against Usik. I just think it’s such a good style match. But Jai also has to earn his rewards for that fight. He’s got to win next week and then he’ll probably have to unify against (Gilbert) Ramirez,” Eddie Hearn said. iFL TV about wanting Oleksandr Usyk to fight his fighter, IBF cruiserweight champion Jay Opetai.
“And then, when he gets stronger, he can compete in the weight class.” It’s a big fight but he has to keep building his profile. But I don’t see many fights that make me genuinely excited for Usyk. He did everything. Who else is there to beat?: Hearn said of Opetai.
If Hearn wants Opetaia to challenge Usyk for his world titles, the Australian needs to fight these four:
- Martin Bakole
- Daniel Dubois
- Bahodir Jalalov
- Agit Kabaiel
If Opetaia can get through this mini gauntlet victorious, then he will earn his title shot against Usyk. Besides, he needs to go back where he came from, a cruiserweight back in the water, fighting weak, obscure fighters that casual fans have never heard of and won’t mind.
Opetaia will defend his IBF title against replacement opponent David Niika (10-0, 9 KOs) on January 8 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. The fight will be shown live on DAZN. Niika is a replacement for the injured Husein Cinkar.
