Opetaia Dares Benavidez: The Cruiserweight Showdown Begins!

Australian boxing sensation Jai Opetaia, the undefeated undisputed cruiserweight king, has publicly expressed his deep frustration with American three-division champion David Benavidez. Opetaia claims that Benavidez is imposing unreasonable demands and deliberately avoiding a highly anticipated high-profile fight with him. Opetaia, with a pristine record of 30 wins and 23 knockouts, is set to defend his Ring Magazine and Zuffa cruiserweight belts against WBC world champion Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) this weekend in Las Vegas. This upcoming bout is part of a card headlined by Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn, with the event available to watch on Disney+ in New Zealand.

Despite the significance of his fight against Mikaelian, the boxing community is already looking ahead to a potential blockbuster clash with Benavidez. However, Opetaia shared with ESPN his exasperation regarding Benavidez's ongoing demands. He cited Benavidez's recent proposal to fight in May on Cinco de Mayo, questioning why they couldn't fight on Australia Day or Samoan Independence Day instead. Opetaia emphasized his team's consistent willingness to agree to any proposed fight time, stating, "We've never given any pushback. We've never ever done that. They say [to us] 'fight him at this time' and we say 'okay'. That's as simple as it is for me. I don't know what all of this is about. Just call me and I'll be there. Just give me the date and I'll be there."

The back-and-forth with Benavidez is not the sole challenge for the 31-year-old Opetaia, who is concurrently engaged in a legal battle against the International Boxing Federation (IBF). Earlier in the year, the IBF stripped Opetaia of his cruiserweight title, asserting that his inaugural Zuffa Boxing appearance against Brandon Glanton at the Meta APEX in March was not sanctioned by the governing body. Opetaia and his team filed a lawsuit on July 14 in a Nevada federal court, alleging that the IBF violated the 2000 Muhammad Ali Reform Act.

Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that the IBF conspired with other boxing sanctioning bodies to financially harm Opetaia by stripping him of his title. Opetaia's legal team contends that the bout against Glanton was purely ceremonial and not an attempt to circumvent title sanctioning by the IBF or any of the other three professional boxing sanctioning bodies. They also argue that the IBF raised no objections in the days leading up to the event, yet subsequently expressed dissatisfaction with the title-like promotion surrounding the fight.

Despite these ongoing adversities, Opetaia maintains a pragmatic perspective. "It's another day in the office for us," he stated. "I've never walked into a fight without something happening. There's always something. But there's no point kicking and screaming about it. Us boxers we know the sport we're in. Sometimes it can work in your favour, but f---, if it was easy everyone would be an undisputed champion, wouldn't they?" Opetaia stressed his focus on the immediate task at hand: defeating Noel Mikaelian. "From where I sit, I just try to focus on doing my best. I've got a job to do and that's beat Noel. If I do that then I'll focus on the next mission."

Opetaia's "next mission" remains a highly anticipated fight with Benavidez, a dream he is confident will materialize. He expressed optimism for the future, stating, "I do feel the best is yet to come. Next 12 months, we win this fight and then we fight for the WBC. I get my IBF back and then we fight Benavidez at the end of the year. We'll obviously have to take a different route to get there but I'm still confident my dream will come true as an undisputed cruiserweight world champion."