Huseyin Cinkara (23-0,19 KOs) suffered multiple injuries in his eighth-round knockout loss to IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) last Saturday night in their fight on December 6th at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach.
One-Punch KO
Opetaia knocked Cinkara out with a powerful left to the head in the eighth round. It was a one-punch KO for Opetaia that left Cinkara flat on his back in bad condition on the canvas. Referee Chris Flores halted the fight at 0:56 of round eight.
C1 Vertebra Fracture
Boxing insider, Mike Coppinger, reported that “Cinkara suffered a brain contusion, small brain bleed, and fractured C1 vertebra.”
Opetaia was hurt as well, staggered by a right hand from Cinkara in round two. He suffered a cut under his right eye and swelling under both eyes. It was an easy fight for Jai going up against the 40-year-old Cinkara. It was mainly a one-sided fight, but occasionally Opetaia would get hit, and each time the reaction showed he was getting nailed hard.
Francis Defends Jai
“Each time these guys hit, they’re taking chunks out of each other. Both boys are pretty banged up,” said Tasman Fighters CEO Mick Francis to the media following Jai Opetaia’s eighth-round knockout win over Huseyin Cinkara last Saturday night.
“Jai is hard on himself. There’s no way it was a disappointing performance. Everyone is entitled to a bad night at the office. He’s knocked these guys out time and time again. That’s how dangerous he is, and that’s why he’s the most feared fighter in the world.”
It’s understandable from Opetaia’s perspective to be disappointed in his performance because it was not the stellar effort from him that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. He needed to look good to argue his case that he should be next for the winner of the David Benavidez vs. Gilberto Ramirez fight for the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles.
“He’s always hard on himself, but it definitely wasn’t disappointing. I’m so proud of this kid. He deserves to be the big Rock star of Australian boxing that he is,” said Francis about Opetaia.
Last Updated on 12/07/2025
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