- Eddie Hearn wants Opetaia to face the heavyweight champion
- Opetaia faces David Nyika on Wednesday night
Eddie Hearn believes Jai Opetaia is the only boxer on the planet who can challenge heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk.
But the famed British boxing promoter says the cruiserweight needs four things to happen before he can secure one of the biggest fights in Australian boxing history.
Defeat fearless challenger David Nyika in his IBF world title defense on the Gold Coast and the Ring on Wednesday.
Unify the division.
Move up to heavyweight and then convince the sport’s new billionaire matchmaker that a fight is worth making.
“I think he’s probably the only one who can really compete with Usyk,” Hearn said on the Gold Coast ahead of Opetaia’s (26-0) long-awaited homecoming.
Australian cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia (pictured left fighting Mairis Briedis) takes on David Nyika on the Gold Coast on Wednesday night.
Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Opetaia is the only fighter on the planet challenging for the world heavyweight crown.
“But he has to prove his credentials to the entire division.”
Usyk (23-0) was the undisputed king of cruiserweight before moving up and repeating the dose at heavyweight, beating Tyson Fury twice last year in Saudi Arabia blockbusters.
Arguably Usky’s toughest test was at cruiserweight against Mairis Briedis, whom Opetaia beat despite breaking her jaw twice in her last outing in Australia two years ago, and then again in May last year.
Saudi billionaire Turki Alalshikh, a royal adviser and chairman of the country’s entertainment authority, is the boxing fan who made Fury-Usyk and Riyadh’s countless other big-name cards a reality.
Both Nyika and Opetaia have fought in the Kingdom and Opetaia’s last three victories have left a mark on the people who matter.
“Look what Usyk did… he wants money fights at the moment, so if we can convince people like His Excellency that Opetaia against Usyk is a classic, then maybe it will happen,” Hearn said.
“He has to win (against Nyika) and then hopefully he can unify the division.”
New Zealand’s Nyika (10-0) is a 2021 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time Commonwealth Games champion and has known Opetaia since they were young fans.
Oleksandr Usyk defeated his old rival Tyson Fury in Riyadh last month to establish himself as the best fighter in the world according to many experts.
The pair pressed foreheads in a heated confrontation on Tuesday that lasted almost a minute, with Nyika insisting he can surprise the heavy favourite.
“You want to see that,” Hearn said of the theatrics.
‘I love that kind of stuff and he seemed real with it.
“The manifestation is something you can convince yourself of, but when you walk into the ring you find out very quickly if it’s real or not.”
Nyika could put a dent in Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn’s plans for Opetaia.
But a 27th consecutive victory should pave the way for a highly anticipated unification fight with Mexican Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, who holds the WBA and WBO belts.
That fight would only leave the WBC belt, currently in the hands of Swede Badou Jack, and draw new eyes in the Americas on Opetaia, whose cruiserweight division is dominated by Europeans.
“I have to, especially for Jai, fight Zurdo, collect all the belts and then face Usyk,” Hearn said of what’s next for the winner.
Hearn said another Australian, new Matchroom Boxing representative George Kambosos Jnr, will fight at home in March, the second of at least four Australian fights this year he will promote.
The 10-fight Opetaia-Nyika card will air on DAZN, the global sports streaming network that will soon own Foxtel after agreeing a deal worth $3.4 billion.
‘There are many advantages here; “The numbers are good and it will be interesting to see what that purchase brings to boxing,” Hearn said.