Jai Opetaia’s IBF Title Could Be Stripped
The IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia could be stripped of his title in the run up to his fight with Ellis Zorro.
The Australian is scheduled to fight in Saudi Arabia on December 23rd, 2023, on a mega boxing card in Saudi. Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Dmitry Bivol also feature on the bill, showing how big of an opportunity it is for the fighter. Although that may be the case, the IBF did not authorise the voluntary defense.
Therefore, the Australian is left with the dilemma of going ahead with the fight or being stripped. The IBF rules prevent consecutive, voluntary defenses if a mandatory is in place. He was ordered to face his mandatory, Mairis Briedis, on July 2nd as the IBF sought to enforce it. However, the duo could not agree on a deal. A purse bid was set for November 21st before the Saudi announcement.
Opetaia’s Belt
“We’ve made it clear to Jai’s team that he cannot fight Ellis Zorro for the title. We had already given Jai an exemption to fight Jordan Thompson in his last fight, so he can’t get another exemption to fight Zorro, who does not have a world ranking. In our rules, it can’t be done.
“He can’t have back-to-back exemptions. If we break the rules for Jai, it opens the floodgates for everyone else. The IBF have notified Jai’s team that he cannot fight Zorro — we’ve said his next fight has to be a mandatory against Briedis. If Jai Opetaia goes ahead and fights Zorro, he will be stripped of his IBF world title,” IBF said
The news is the last thing that Opetaia needs, given the state of the division. The WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith takes on Mateusz Masternak on December 10th, 2023. Billam-Smith has his first defense of the title that he won when he defeated Lawrence Okolie. There is an expectation that the winner will face Opetaia in a massive unification. Billam-Smith only has one loss on his record, while Opetaia remains undefeated with 23 wins and 18 by way of knockout. With that being said, the Australian was desperate to face the winner.
Opetaia On Billam-Smith
“It’s a good fight. Masternak is very experienced, has been around for a long time and is a good boxer. He’s a bit long in the tooth but those old bulls have still got it. Then Chris Billam-Smith is tough, he always comes to fight and it’s hard to beat someone who doesn’t want to lose. He believes in himself. I hope it’s a good fight for the crowd and I hope whoever wins reaches out so we can make that fight happen.
“We just had some family banter around the WBO belt. It’s something that I’ve always been chasing since I was a younger kid. We’ve always been making jokes about it. It would be awesome to have that WBO so when that time comes, we will get the job done,” Opetaia stated
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