Jai Opetaia says he would “love to share the ring” with Dmitry Bivol if he moved up to cruiserweight for the two to fight. The IBF champion Opetaia (27-0, 20 KOs) claims he’s “chasing great fights,” and he feels that a clash against the current undisputed light heavyweight champion Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs).
Bivol’s Controversy
Dmitry Bivol, 34, is coming off a questionable 12-round majority decision win over undisputed 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev last month on February 22nd in Riyadh. Two of the judges for that fight were VERY generous with their scoring for Bivol, giving him a win in a clash that should have been a 12-round draw or a victory for Beterbiev.
The 40-year-old Beterbiev deserved to win six rounds and beat the living daylights out of Bivol in the twelfth round. That victory was seen by some of Bivol being given the win for political reasons.
Either way, he looked bad running around the ring, getting out-punched by Beterbiev, and looking like he was on the verge of being knocked out in the 12th round by the older fighter. Bivol’s face looked like it had been run over by a tractor-trailer at the end of the contest. Beterbiev’s heavy shots did a number on his face.
Dream Fight?
“Of course, respectfully. I actually have a lot of respect for Bivol. I would love to fight him. I would love to share the ring with him. I think he’s a great, and I would love to share the ring with a great fighter,” said Jai Opetaia to Ring Magazine’s YouTube channel when asked if he would be interested in fighting current undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
“We’re not chasing easy fights. We’re chasing great fights, and I feel that is a great fight. My visions are locked in on the belts. I’m chasing unification fights. Anybody that comes in between that, I’ve got to take them out, but I am locked into the other belts. I see them at the end of the tunnel and I’m heading that way. That’s what I want. Let’s make it happen.”
Jai always talks about fighting great fighters, yet he NEVER does. It’s strictly ham & eggers. You only judge a fighter by who they actually fight, and you have to tune out the chirping they do about how, ‘One of these days,’ they’ll fight great opposition.
Opetaia, 29, hasn’t yet shown that he wants to chase greatness. His resume is filled with non-great fighters, and some boxing fans believe his focus is on padding his record against middle-of-the-road guys. The IBF cruiserweight champion Opetaia is defending against #14 Claudio Squeo on May 13th at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, in Australia.
Last Updated on 03/24/2025
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