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Jai Opetaia says he would “love to share the ring” with Dmitry Bivol if he moved as much as cruiserweight for the 2 to struggle. The IBF champion Opetaia (27-0, 20 KOs) claims he’s “chasing great fights,” and he feels {that a} conflict in opposition to the present undisputed mild heavyweight champion Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs).
Bivol’s Controversy
Dmitry Bivol, 34, is coming off a questionable 12-round majority resolution win over undisputed 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev final month on February twenty second in Riyadh. Two of the judges for that struggle have been VERY beneficiant with their scoring for Bivol, giving him a win in a conflict that ought to have been a 12-round draw or a victory for Beterbiev.
The 40-year-old Beterbiev deserved to win six rounds and beat the residing daylights out of Bivol within the twelfth spherical. That victory was seen by a few of Bivol being given the win for political causes.
Both approach, he regarded unhealthy operating across the ring, getting out-punched by Beterbiev, and looking out like he was on the verge of being knocked out within the twelfth spherical by the older fighter. Bivol’s face regarded prefer it had been run over by a tractor-trailer on the finish of the competition. Beterbiev’s heavy photographs did a quantity on his face.
Dream Combat?
“Of course, respectfully. I actually have a lot of respect for Bivol. I would love to fight him. I would love to share the ring with him. I think he’s a great, and I would love to share the ring with a great fighter,” mentioned Jai Opetaia to Ring Journal’s YouTube channel when requested if he can be concerned about preventing present undisputed mild heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
“We’re not chasing easy fights. We’re chasing great fights, and I feel that is a great fight. My visions are locked in on the belts. I’m chasing unification fights. Anybody that comes in between that, I’ve got to take them out, but I am locked into the other belts. I see them at the end of the tunnel and I’m heading that way. That’s what I want. Let’s make it happen.”
Jai all the time talks about preventing nice fighters, but he NEVER does. It’s strictly ham & eggers. You solely choose a fighter by who they really struggle, and you need to tune out the chirping they do about how, ‘One of these days,’ they’ll struggle nice opposition.
Opetaia, 29, hasn’t but proven that he desires to chase greatness. His resume is stuffed with non-great fighters, and a few boxing followers consider his focus is on padding his file in opposition to middle-of-the-road guys. The IBF cruiserweight champion Opetaia is defending in opposition to #14 Claudio Squeo on Could thirteenth on the Gold Coast Conference Centre, Broadbeach, in Australia.
