Hearn: Opetaia to win cruiserweight, challenge Usuki for heavyweight title

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has said tonight that IBF cruiserweight champion Jay Opeta will “pick up all the cruiserweight belts” and then go on to fight heavyweight Alexander Usyk to become the undisputed champion.

Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) crushed challenger David Niik (10-1, 9 KOs), knocking him out in the fourth round tonight at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. Referee David Fields called it quits after Niika was flattened by Opetaia’s left hand. It was the second knockdown in the fourth round.

Hearn’s master plan

“I believe David Niika will be world champion in the future, but not tonight.” He has come up with the best fighter, not only in Australia, but one of the best fighters in the world in Jay Opetaia,” promoter Eddie Hearn said. inside the ring after Avdi’s victory.

“This is a guy (Jai) who should be going up in the pound-for-pound rankings. A huge future is ahead of us. Jai is modest enough not to mention Oleksandr Usyk’s name, but I’m not. That’s my job,” Hearn continued.

“Jay is going to pick up all the cruiserweight belts to become undisputed, and then we want to push him against Alexander Usyk to try to become undisputed at heavyweight as well.” “I believe he is the only one who can give Oleksandr Usyk a real fight, but in order to do that we have to pick up every heavyweight belt first,” said Hearn.

There is still a lot of doubt as to whether Opetaya will make it as far as fighting Usyk for his heavyweight titles. In order to get that far, Jay needs to beat WBA and WBO Cruiserweight Champion Gilbert ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), and he might lose that fight. If he wins, he will still have to beat WBC champion Badou Jack, which won’t be easy.

Next stop: Unification

Defeating Zurdo will require some changes in Opetaja’s fighting style as this guy is smart, powerful and a great fighter. As we saw tonight, Jai can’t fight inside licks and is very, very average. Ramirez’s bread and butter is fighting on the inside, and his range striking is the best in the cruiserweight division. Above all, he is smart.

“I pursued these struggles for unification. I’m coming for the belt,” Opetaia said tonight when asked if he would be interested in a unification fight against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez in ‘three to four months if His Excellency (Turki Al-Shiekh) can fight in the continuation of his fourth-round knockout win over David Najik.