Hearn wants Jai Opetaia for Usyk: Is this a joke or the new reality of boxing?


Promoter Eddie Hearn wants his fighter, IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, to be the next opponent against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to defend his titles.

It would be 100% unfair to the top contenders in the heavyweight division if Opetai was allowed to fight Usyk for his WBA, WBC and WBO world titles without earning the opportunity by defeating the contenders. What a stupid joke and so, so wrong for the sport.

From Hearn's point of view, it's understandable why he would want his fighter Opetaia to get a title shot against Usyk. It's money. He doesn't have anyone else in his Matchroom stable to fight Usyk after hitting his top fighter, Anthony Joshua, twice, causing him to go into a mental breakdown in the ring after his second loss.

Hearn would have been laughed at if he made a play to get home heavyweight Johnny Fisher to challenge Usyk for his three belts after the performance he submitted against Dave Allen last week. Besides Opetaia in the cruiserweight division, Fisher is the only one Hearn has. He's not going to let Joshua fight Usyk and spoil his plans for a 'Battle of Britain' money fight against Tyson Fury.

it is and self-serving move for Hearn's part, he wants Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) to step up and jump the line ahead of top contenders Martin Bakole, Agito Kabayel and Joseph Parker without proving any of those guys deserve a title shot.

It's a circus, and it fits with Francis Ngannou getting a direct shot at Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora's sidekick, who is fighting for a world title after losing three of his last four fights. Allowing Opetai to jump ahead of a heavyweight contender to fight Usyk for his three world titles makes a mockery of the sport, but it shows what matters: money.

Opetaia, 29, looked awful in his narrow win over Mairis Briedis on May 18, running around the ring, looking scared when the 39-year-old started warming him up. You got a glimpse of who Opetaia really is during the last four rounds of the fight. He's someone who's fine when he has a passive fighter in front of him, but when he's relentlessly attacked by a hard punch, he turns into a scared lamb.

“I think Opetaia's style is a great fight. The only fight I see, I mean, I love Opetai vs. Usyk. I just think it's such a good style match. But Jai also has to earn his stripes for that fight. He has to win next week and then he probably has to unify against (Gilbert) Ramirez,” Eddie Hearn told iFL TV about wanting Oleksandr Usyk to fight his fighter, IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia.

“And then, when he progresses, he can compete in weight. It's a great fight, but he needs to keep building his profile. But I don't see many fights that honestly get me excited for Usyk. He did everything. Who else is there to beat? Hearn said of Opetaia.

If Hearn wants Opetaia to challenge Usyk for his world titles, he needs to get the Aussie to fight these four:

  1. Martin Bakole
  2. Daniel Dubois
  3. Bahodir Jalalov
  4. Agit Kabayel

If Opetaia can get through this mini-gaunt as a winner, then he will deserve a title shot against Usyk. Plus, he has to go back where he came from, back into the sludge of the cruiserweight division, fighting pale, obscure fighters that casual fans have never heard of and will never care about.

Opetaia will defend his IBF title against replacement opponent David Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) on January 8 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. The fight will be shown live on DAZN. Nyika is a replacement for the injured Huseyin Cinkara.

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