Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia 24-0 (19) will get the chance to prove his first win over Mairis Briedis 28-2 (20) was no fluke when the meet in a rematch at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 18.
The bout for the vacant IBF 200-pound title will be the main support to the undisputed heavyweight title clash between WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine champion Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) and WBC titleholder Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) on a card aptly billed as ‘Ring of Fire’.
Australian southpaw Opetaia, 28, famously annexed the IBF belt from 39-year-old Latvian veteran Briedis two years ago, despite having his jaw fractured in two places.
Even though Opetaia has “been there, done that” with Briedis before, he is taking the fight very seriously.
“In a way you know it’s still a serious fight you know, it’s still fighting for a world title, it’s like it’s happening all over again you know what I mean, but I’m excited,” Opetaia told Seconds Out.
“I feel like a whole better version of myself. I feel fitter, stronger, faster and I doubt he feels the same.
“I’m not I’m not trying to get caught up in what everyone else is thinking and what their expectations are. I’m just focused on my own expectations. We’re just trying to execute a specific plan for this fight.
“I’m excited. I feel like he is a bit longer the tooth. He’s getting up there [in age] but I feel like he knows this is his last shot. He knows that it is all in here so I’m I’m expecting a vicious version of him.
“I’m not taking him lightly. I know he’s going to come out swinging because he’s got nothing to lose anymore, so I’m expecting another 12 rounds of war. I’m prepared for that.
“I’m expecting him to be more aggressive. I think last time he wasn’t expecting me to come out the way I did, but if he tries to stay back and box from range I’m going to be more comfortable. He has to try and make it ugly, he has to come forward and and make it an ugly fight and make make it uncomfortable for me, but I’m prepared for that.
“I feel like I’ve gotten so much stronger in the clinch. My power was getting even stronger and I just feel like once again they’re underestimating me. They haven’t seen the best of me so I’m looking at putting on a great performance.”
A combination of injuries, promotional disputes and boxing politics have conspired to keep Opetaia on the sidelines for longer than he would like since winning the world title, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been in the gym refining his game.
“Even the international experience that we’ve been getting as a professional, you just do nothing but grow. The sparring, the flights, the travelling, we’re ticking more and more boxes and we’re progressing from every camp that I have,” Opetaia explained.
“I’ve only had two fights since the Breidis fight, but I’ve had so many camps. We’ve been preparing for fights then pullouts, but even though they’ve been pullouts while we’ve been preparing for those fights we’ve grown, we’ve learned, so it’s all been positive and I’m just looking forward to putting a stamp on the last one.”
