Jai Opetaia’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says he needs to make the unification combat with WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez after Jai defends in opposition to his IBF necessary Huseyin Cinkara subsequent 12 months on January eighth.
The Matchroom boss Hearn claims Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) will “do a number” on ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), and when he does, he’s going to brag and rub it within the face of Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya to get the final chortle.
Ought to De La Hoya Threat or To not Threat Ramirez?
De La Hoya hasn’t mentioned whether or not he’ll give the inexperienced mild to Ramirez, 33, to take the combat with Opetaia as a result of it’s obtained to as a result of he might need different concepts for fascinating matchups for the favored Mexican star. Why restrict himself by going through Opetaia, who has a Shakur Stevenson model?
Hearn appears to be in a rush to make the Opetaia-Ramirez combat, and he would solely be that means if he was completely 100% sure that Opetaia goes to win. The British promoter hasn’t taken that very same method to match his fighter Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis with Vergil Ortiz Jr., who De La Hoya promotes.
So, for those who’re Oscar, he shouldn’t give Hearn what he needs by making the match between Zurdo and Opetaia except he’s prepared to do the identical with Boots preventing Vergil.
“In terms of Zurdo [Ramirez] against Jai [Opetaia], absolutely! Jai has a mandatory that we have to take care of in [Huseyin] Cinkara. That could come in early January [8th] in 2025, and then all we want are unifcations for Jai,” mentioned Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing. Billiam-Smith, he took the suitable choice to take the better combat in opposition to Zurdo. No disrespect, however you’ll see a giant, large, skillful heavyweight in Opetaia do a quantity in Zurdo, and that is music to my ears as a result of we need to make these fights with Oscar De La Hoya.
“It’s all very well boasting about a record when you’re not in competitive fights. Put Zurdo in with Opetaia. Put Zepeda in with Shakur. Put Barboza with Catterall. The list is endless and we win all those fights with Golden Boy. When we do there’s nothing else to say, and when we do but just to look at the great Oscar De La Hoya and just go [clap-clap-clap-clap],” mentioned Hearn.
Opetaia will defend in opposition to #1 Cinkara (22-0, 18 KOs) on January eighth on the Gold Coast Conference Centre, in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. That must be a simple win for Ramirez as a result of the 39-year-old Cinkara has by no means fought any notable opposition throughout his skilled profession.
“It’s nothing personal. I think he’s actually quite amusing. When the ‘Clap Back’ first started, I thought it was so cringe,” mentioned Hearn about De La Hoya.
“I think it’s good fun. With me and Oscar, there’s always been a little bit of needle between me and him. That’s what you want in the build-up. I don’t see us losing against Golden Boy at all. Not just losing the whole thing. Losing one. So, bring it on.”
The explanation Hearn may be so cavalier about De La Hoya’s Clap Again state of affairs now could be as a result of he feels assured that Opetaia, 29, will beat him simply. But when this had been a state of affairs the place Oscar had the higher hand, you possibly can guess that Hearn could be aggravated at him, taunting him, and pressuring him to make the combat.
Jai’s Weak point: He Can’t Deal with Stress
Opetaia isn’t that good of a fighter, as we noticed in his rematch with former IBF cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis on Might 18th.
When Opetaia began taking harm from the exhausting photographs from a motivated Briedis, he seemed completely scared and reworked into a much bigger model of Shakur. It was like watching a bully get uncovered. That efficiency by Opetaia confirmed that he’s not the daring fighter that he betrays himself with throughout his interviews.
The Aussie Opetaia is coming off a profitable protection of his IBF cruiserweight title in opposition to Jack Massey (22-3, 12 KOs) on October twelfth in Riyadh. It was a simple win for Opetaia, stopping the light-hitting Massey within the sixth spherical of a one-sided mismatch.
Opetaia vs. Massey Punch Stats
– Jai Opetaia: 87 of 205 photographs for a 42.4% join charge– Jack Massey: 41 of 143 punches for 28.7%
