Jai Opetaia is set for his next fight against Jack Massey on October 12 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Australia’s two-time world champion puts on the line his IBF cruiserweight title. The 12-round contest is featured on the undercard leading to Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol.
Opetaia (25-0, 19 KOs) regained the belt in May in a rematch against Latvia’s former world champion Mairis Briedis (28-3, 20 KOs). En route to his victory by unanimous decision, the 29-year-old Sydney southpaw had to overcome several tough rounds at the end of the fight.
Post-win, the undefeated Australian said that next he wanted to face the winner of an all-British showdown pitting WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) against Richard Riakporhe (17-1, 13 KOs). The defending champion retained his belt by unanimous decision in June, and is now scheduled to meet Mexico’s WBA titleholder Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) on November 16 also in Riyadh.
Meanwhile, the WBC 200 lbs strap is currently held by Norair Mikaeljan (27-2, 12 KOs) of Armenia. The latter is scheduled to make his first defense against Ryan Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs) of Canada on September 28 in Miami.
“It is what it is. Jack Massey has my full focus now. We’re locked in on him,” Jai Opetaia said at the pre-fight press conference. “I was chasing those unification fights, but unfortunately we didn’t get one. So, it is what it is, man. 12th of October, we do it again.”
As for his second clash with Briedis and the next challenge, Opetaia said: “We take a lot from fights like that… Being in the ring with a great fighter like Mairis Briedis… But, I’m not taking Massey lightly. I know he’s coming to fight. It is his opportunity to become a world champion. And I’ve trained for 12 rounds of war, like I always do. So, I’m prepared, let’s go.”
Jack Massey: I’ve got a tough fight ahead of me
Jack Massey (22-2, 12 KOs) makes his first attempt to become world champion. The 31-year-old’s defeated Isaac Chamberlain by unanimous decision in June and stopped Steve Eloundou Ntere in the first round in January.
Prior to that, the native of Chapel-en-le-Frith, England suffered his second career defeat by unanimous decision against former world champion Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) in a heavyweight match in January 2023. His first loss goes to December 2019, when he dropped a UD against Riakporhe in a bout for the British strap at cruiserweight.
“This is what I do, this is my job,” Jack Massey said when asked about stepping up to challenge Opetaia. “We are fighters at the end of the day. You get an opportunity this big – you take it with both hands. I know how big this opportunity is – I’m going to take it with both hands. I’m more than ready for for the 12th [of October]. So, good to go.”
“I know, I’ve got a tough fight ahead of me, but I don’t just turn up. I don’t turn up for the money. I never do and never did against [Joseph] Parker, and that wasn’t my weight class. So, like I said, I know I’ve got an opportunity here, it’s a lottery ticket. I’m going to take it with both hands and do anything I can in my world to win this fight.”
Opetaia has been reportedly granted an exception to defend his belt against IBF’s No. 11 Massey in a contest held no later than October 12. The winner of the bout is required to face Huseyin Cinkara (22-0, 18 KOs) by January 20, 2025. The German-born Turkiye-based mandatory challenger stopped Armend Xhoxhaj (18-4, 9 KOs) of Germany by way of Kosovo in the second round in April.
In the main event at light heavyweight, unified WBC, WBO and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) battle it out for the undisputed title. In another world championship bout, Skye Nicolson (11-0, 1 KOs) of Australia defends her WBC featherweight title against Raven Chapman (9-0, 2 KOs) of the UK.