Jai Opetaia’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says he wants to fight WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez after Jai defends Huseyin Cinkara’s IBF commitment next year on January 8.
Matchroom boss Hearn says Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) will “do a number” on ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), and if he does, I will be happy and rub it in Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya’s face for the last laugh.
Should De La Hoya Risk Or Not Risk Ramirez?
De La Hoya has not said whether he will give the green light to Ramirez, 33, to fight Opetaia because he has to because he may have other ideas for an interesting combination of the famous Mexican star. Why limit himself to Opetaia, who has the style of Shakur Stevenson?
Hearn seems to be in a rush to make the Opetaia-Ramirez fight, and he would only be that way if he is absolutely 100% sure that Opetaia will win. The British promoter has yet to take that approach of matching his star Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis with Vergil Ortiz Jr., who is promoted by De La Hoya.
So, if he’s Oscar, he shouldn’t give Hearn what he wants by making a match between Zurdo and Opetaia unless he’s willing to do the same with Boots fighting Vergil.
“It’s from Zurdo [Ramirez] against Jay [Opetaia]indeed! Jai has a responsibility that we should take care of [Huseyin] Cinkara. That could come as early as January [8th] 2025, and what we want is Jai’s rebellion,” said Eddie Hearn speaking to Matchroom Boxing. Billiam-Smith, made the right decision to fight easy Zurdo. No disrespect, but you’re going to see a big, big, talented survivor in Opetaia doing a number on Zurdo, and that’s music to my ears because we want to do these fights with Oscar De La Hoya.
“It’s great to brag about a record when you’re not in a competitive battle. Enter Zurdo with Opetaia. Enter Zepeda and Shakur. Put Barboza with Catterall. The list is endless and we win all those battles with Golden Boy. If we do there is nothing else to say, and if we do without looking at the great Oscar De La Hoya then leave. [clap-clap-clap-clap],” Hearn said.
Opetaia will defend against #1 Cinkara (22-0, 18 KOs) on January 8th at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. That should be an easy win for Ramirez because Cinkara, 39, hasn’t fought any notable opposition during his professional career.
“It’s nothing personal. I think he’s actually funny. “When ‘Clap Back’ started I thought it was intense,” Hearn said of De La Hoya.
“I think it’s fun. Me and Oscar, there’s always a little needle between me and him. That’s what you want in construction. I don’t see us losing to Golden Boy at all. Not just losing everything. Losing one. So, go ahead. “
The reason Hearn can be so powerful about De La Hoya’s Clap Back status now is because he feels confident that Opetaia, 29, will beat him easily. But if this was a situation where Oscar had the upper hand, you can bet that Hearn would have pissed him off, taunted him, pressured him into a fight.
Jai’s Weakness: Can’t Handle Stress
Opetaia is not that good, as we saw in his rematch with former IBF cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis on May 18.
As Opetaia began to wreak havoc on hard shots from an inspired Briedis, he looked horrified and transformed into a giant version of Shakur. It was like watching a bully being exposed. Opetaia’s performance showed that he is not the brave fighter he gave himself out to be during his interviews.
Aussie Opetaia will successfully defend his IBF cruiserweight title against Jack Massey (22-3, 12 KOs) on October 12 in Riyadh. It was an easy win for Opetaia, stopping the slow-hitting Massey in the sixth round of a one-sided draw.
Opetaia vs. Massey Punch Stats
– Jai Opetaia: 87 of 205 images with a connection rate of 42.4%
– Jack Massey: 41 of 143 punches for 28.7%
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