Fans Demand More: Opetaia’s ‘Cherry Pick’ Against Squeo Fuels Frustration, Calls for Ramirez Unification

Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) will defend his IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight titles against unbeaten little-known #14 ranked Claudio Squeo (17-0, 9 KOs) in a 12-round fight on May 13th, live on DAZN at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Australia.

Squeo: Who Is He?

The 34-year-old Italian-born Squeo is a nine-year pro who has never fought a world-level fighter professionally. He didn’t have much amateur career, going 0-2 before turning professional in 2017.

Squeo’s Last Five Wins

– Orlando de Jesus Estrada (16-18-2)
– Niklas Rasanen (17-2-1)
– Lebogang Mashitoa (10-5)
– Julio Cesar Calimeno (6-3)
– Gabriele Guainella (6-2)

I don’t know why the International Boxing Federation has given Squeo a top-15 ranking. Nothing on his resume suggests he should be anywhere near top-tier. Bottom 100 would be fine, but not #14.

If this is the type of opposition Opetaia will be facing consistently, he can hold onto his IBF title into his 50s. If you’re DAZN, you can’t be too pleased to put on mismatches like this because it’s not going to bring in new subscribers unless they’re only focusing on the Australian market. George Kambosos Jr. is a star in that country, and he’s done very little with his career.

Opetaia’s fans on X are not happy with this choice of opponent, as they wanted a unification fight with WBA and WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez rather than another cherry pick like his last two opponents, David Nyika and Jack Massey.

The “Jelly Inside”

Some people believe that the life-and-death struggle Jai had in his rematch with Mairis Briedis last May took the best out of him, leaving this risk-averse fighter that we’ve seen since.

In that fight, Opetaia looked afraid when Briedis went on the attack at midpoint and dominated the last six rounds with pressure. Fans saw what lurked inside Opetaia: outworkly tough, glaring at opponents, but inside, pure jelly.