Opetaia Delivers Brutal Eighth-Round KO, Retains IBF Title

Jai Opetaia retained his IBF Cruiserweight Title with an eighth-round stoppage win over Huseyin Cinkara in the fifth defense of his belt.

The win means he is a step closer to securing a unification after the news that Zurdo Ramirez is expected to box David Benavidez on Cinco De Mayo. The opening round was a cagey affair, with both men trying to establish their dominance. However, the champ found his groove in the second. Opetaia connected with a couple of left hands, as the southpaw was pushing Cinkara on the back foot. The challenger landed a left hook on the counter, but Opetaia showed no signs of being stunned. And yet, Cinkara landed a right hand counter from Opetaia’s left to severely hurt him in the second. The champion was buzzed, but made it out of the round.

Jai found his momentum again in the third, as he continued to land on the body of the 40-year-old/challenger, who was slowing down. Cinkara was now struggling to cope with the footwork of the champion, who was using his angles to land the left repeatedly. However, as Opetaia was trying desperately for the KO, he did get caught by a right hand early on in the fifth.

Opetaia’s eye was swollen in the sixth, as Cinkara was not going anywhere. But the resistance was slowly breaking. Opetaia found more success in the seventh, with several shots to the midsection. Jai finally got his man out of the ring in the eighth, as he countered Cinkara’s right with a left to end the fight. Paramedics immediately came to the scene in what was a devastating KO.

Full Card

Cruiserweight Jai Opetaia def. Huseyin Cinkara via KO (Round 8)

Super Middleweight Max McIntyre def. Jed Morris via TKO (Round 4)

Super Lightweight Jake Wyllie vs. Paul Fleming declared Split Draw

Heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana def. German Garcia Montes via KO (Round 1)

Super Welterweight Ben Mahoney def. Winston Hill via KO (Round 6)

Bantamweight Jason Moloney def. Herlan Gomez via TKO (Round 4)

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