Jai Opetaia is looking for a big fight in March and has talked about wanting to face light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, but there is no interest on his part in facing the Ring magazine cruiserweight champion.
One opponent who would make sense to face Opetaia (24-0, 19 KOs) is ‘The Mexican Monster’ David Benavidez, a fighter who many agree is a true cruiserweight, but who is reduced to competing at super middleweight due to the highest payments. in that weight class.
Blockbuster fight in the desert
If the Saudis want it, they can convince the 26-year-old Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) to move up to cruiserweight to face Opetaia in a blockbuster clash between two talented fighters of the same size. Benavidez wants the biggest payday possible, which is why he’s been dropping to 168 all these years.
There would be no size advantage, as Benavidez is probably a little bigger than Opetaia, and it would come down to which of the two has more heart. Can Benavidez deal with a fighter his size like Opetaia or will he fall apart?
It would be interesting to finally see Benavidez fight someone his own size instead of dropping to 168 and then rehydrating to crush his smaller opponents.
Benavidez has been relentlessly pursuing superstar Canelo Alvarez for years, trying to get that fight for money instead of moving up to cruiserweight to compete against fighters his own size. It seems unlikely that fight will ever happen, and you can understand why.
Canelo isn’t interested in fighting a reduced cruiserweight, and he shouldn’t have to.
It is questionable whether Benavidez would accept a fight against Opetaia, considering he has shown no interest in accepting the challenge against David Morrell Jr, the WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion, who can punch like no other tomorrow and is absolutely fearless.
“[Mairis] Briedis retired. He lost my respect. I used to admire him during my cruiserweight journey,” Jai Opetaia told Matchroom Boxing about his thoughts on former IBF, WBC and WBO cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis. “I beat him up once and he never came back.
“Participating in these Riyadh seasons is a change. I feel like the next one will be a bigger fight with a better opponent, and gradually they’re going to build and build.
“The Saudis are making things happen and I am proud to be here. “I’m the first cruiserweight to be on these cards, so equip Riyadh,” Opetaia said.
