Jai Opetaia gives WBA lightweight champion Dmitry Bivol the upper hand in his fight against unbeaten knockout machine Artur Beterbiev eight days from now on October 12. IBF cruiserweight champion Opetaia admits to being a fan of Bivol (23-0, 12 KO), and would like to fight him or Beterbiev in the future.
Opetaia (25-0, 19 KOs) defends his IBF title against Jack Massey on the undercard of Beterbiev-Bivol in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His immediate goal is to collect all the cruiserweight titles against the other champions, but if the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol moves, he would like to fight.
“It’s boxing. I’ve done this sport all my life. I believe that anyone in that ring, I have the ability to beat,” said Jai Opetaia to Queensberry about which he sized Artur Beterbiev. “You just have to fight smart and do the right things. I believe that with my ability, I can do that against any fighter.”
Opetaia would have a better chance of defeating Bivol due to his power and size advantage. Bivol is a boxer who forces Opetaia to a boxing match. He would have a good chance of winning this type of fight. Beterbiev would be more difficult for Opetaia because he fights inside, and this is an area where he is weak.
Opetaia is a type of fighter that throws punches from the outside, and dives to throw single punches. This style does not work against Beterbiev, who forces an inside battle and cuts Opetaia.
“He’s the perfect fighter going forward against the corner-cutting boxer,” Opetaia said of the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight. “I’m more inclined towards Bivol because I’m more of a fan of Bivol. I like his style. It will be a good fight. I’m really interested in it.”
Of the two 175lb champions, Beterbiev is the most likely to move up to cruiserweight to challenge Opetaia, but only if he is victorious against Bivol. If he loses, Beterbiev will want a rematch, and he will get one if His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is interested in seeing them fight again.
“Of course. I’m still going to fight nights and size everyone up since my amateur days when I was hitting tournaments,” Opetaia said when asked about his thoughts on the potential fight of Beterbiev or Bivol. “It’s something in the future that could easily happen.
“This is one of those mega-fights that the profile builds. I have to do my job and run my business. The winner of this fight will be huge. It’s definitely a possibility, but my whole focus is just to collect the belts of cruiserweight at the moment. But if those opportunities come up, I’ll take them for sure,” said Opetaia about his interest in fighting the winner of the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight.
It is understandable why Opetaia is sizing up Beterbiev after hearing about his interest in fighting. It would be foolish for Opetaia to assume that because she is bigger than him, she would win because she is not as skilled as him nor equipped to fight inside. Again, Opetaia is only a pot fighter, and doesn’t know how to fight in close quarters.
