IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) says he wants a unification fight against WBA/WBO champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez after his fourth-round knockout of challenger David Nyika (10- 1, 9 KOs) on Wednesday. night in Australia.
Inside Game Concerns
Opetaia, 29, will have to fight much better against Zurdo Ramirez for him to defeat the unified champion. The lack that Jai showed inside against Nyika tonight will be exploited by Zurdo, who is an outstanding fighter in close. That’s the best part of his game. He was beating Opetaia in an indoor fight and overwhelming him with punches.
We saw tonight that Jai is a fighter with one weapon, only able to land his left with authority and that he needs to be out there to generate power. He was medium inside when Nyika forced him into that fight by closing the gap, wrestling and punching. If it had been Ramirez, Jai would have been out of his league and probably been eliminated.
According to Jake Donovan, Tasman Fighters boss Mick Francis, May 3 is a potential date for a unification bout between Opetaia and Zurdo Ramirez. Now, the complicated party tries to make the negotiated match. It won’t be easy.
Opetaia is a good fighter in the Bivol mold, but he has zero in the game, and he is not built for a fighter like Gilberto Ramirez, Oleksandr Usyk, or even Artur Beterbiev. It’s too one-dimensional and more of a potshot kind of thing.
Nyika’s fighting tactics
“I want those unification fights. I want all those belts around my waist,” Opetaia told the media at the post-fight press conference after his win over Nyika. “I’m pursuing unification fights, but if someone else is put in front of me, I can’t help it.
“I was a little shocked by the way it came out,” Opetaia said of Nyika’s aggression. “My old man told me, ‘I want to have a dog fight.'” If he wants to have a dog fight, let’s have a dog fight.
Nyika was fighting Opetaia on equal terms, fighting and attacking him on the inside. His tactics of turning the fight into a dog fight were quite effective. Jai ended the fight in the fourth round when he reached the outside, hurt Nyika with a left hand, and then overwhelmed him with combinations.
