LAS VEGAS — Jai Opetaia wants to lead the charge for a new boxing era. For years, Opetaia has gotten the run-around in his quest to unify cruiserweight titles and become the undisputed champion. His imminent Zuffa Boxing debut is a new avenue to achieving those dreams.
Opetaia fights Brandon Glanton for the inaugural Zuffa Boxing world cruiserweight championship. Their fight headlines Zuffa Boxing 04 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Sunday. It’s the first step in Opetaia’s new plan to unify cruiserweight titles.
To become an undisputed champion, a boxer must obtain the four championships belonging to boxing’s four recognized sanctioning bodies: the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO. Opetaia, already holding the IBF cruiserweight title, thinks it’s time for a five-belt era.
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“It would mean the world to me,” Opetaia told CBS Sports about potentially becoming the first Zuffa Boxing champion. “I think from this fight on, to become undisputed, you’ll need to have the Zuffa Jai Opetaia believes Zuffa Boxing title will be needed to reach undisputed status as well. I’m honored to be the first.
“I still have hard work to do on Sunday before this happens. I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch. I’ve done the hard work, and I have the ability to win this fight. Now it’s about executing the gameplan.”
Check out the full interview with Jai Opetaia below.
Becoming an undisputed champion is a legendary achievement, yet it seems modest in today’s landscape. Opetaia looks around him and sees marvelous attractions, from Oleksandr Usyk boxing at the Pyramids of Giza to UFC fighters fighting at the White House. It’s all quite grand for a man with a simple mission to be the best cruiserweight alive.
“Look what the people we’re surrounded by here are doing,” Opetaia said. “Usyk is fighting a kickboxer at the pyramids in Egypt. That’s crazy. Then you have Dana White putting on a UFC fight at the White House. Think about that. This guy is making things happen — these big fights in crazy places. I’m just chasing the unification fight. We’re here at the Apex, I’m sweet with that.”