Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is still strongly pushing for a unification bout involving cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. This potential fight could mean that YouTube personality Jake Paul might struggle to secure a world title opportunity in the division.
A highly anticipated showdown between Australia`s Opetaia and the unified champion Gilberto Ramirez has been discussed for a while. However, it appears more likely to actually happen now that both fighters` schedules seem to be aligning.
Opetaia, holding a record of 27 wins and no losses with 21 knockouts, successfully defended his IBF and Ring Magazine titles back in January. He finished his fight against David Nyika in the fourth round after an engaging contest.
The skilled and powerful Opetaia aims to continue his dominant form with another emphatic victory when he steps into the ring against Claudio Squeo on June 8.
Opetaia is widely favored to win this upcoming fight against Squeo, who is undefeated but considered largely unproven. This match is seen as an opportunity for Opetaia to hone his skills in preparation for a potential unification challenge.
Meanwhile, Gilberto Ramirez, whose record stands at 47-1 with 30 knockouts, is set to defend his WBA and WBO belts on June 28. He claimed these titles in November by defeating Chris Billam-Smith via a clear unanimous decision.
Ramirez, known as “Zurdo,” is scheduled to face veteran Yuniel Dorticos on the undercard of the event featuring Jake Paul against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Interestingly, Ramirez`s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya from Golden Boy, has even hinted at a rather unusual matchup between Ramirez and Paul.
To potentially steer clear of such an unconventional pairing, Hearn appears confident in bringing Opetaia back into the conversation for a significant fight against Ramirez.
However, making this eagerly awaited unification bout a reality would likely require substantial financial backing from prominent boxing figure Turki Alalshikh, a pattern often seen with major fights.
Hearn quoted Alalshikh as stating, “He knows that`s the best fight in the division.”
Hearn added, “He`s put a lot of work into Jai Opetaia, `Zurdo`s` been on [a Riyadh Season] card as well. If they both win, I expect them to fight each other.”
He concluded by mentioning, “Obviously you`ve got [WBC world champion] Badou Jack as well, and I want to see Jai become the undisputed champion.”
