This week, IBF welterweight champion Jay Opetaya made the difficult decision to finally relinquish the title. Opetaya, who has a 23-fight winning streak and 18 knockouts, will face Briton Ellis Zorro this week, but the IBF has demanded that Opetaya must have a mandatory title defense - a rematch against old rival Myris Bradis, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in March next year, but the fight between Opetaya and Zorro is considered "invalid" by the IBF because Zorro is not in the top 15 in the IBF rankings and is not eligible to challenge, so the IBF did not approve the match.
Opetaya's insistence on fighting Zorro was motivated by the $500,000 gratuity, and in the end, in terms of money and honor, Opetaya chose the former, that is, he would rather give up the boxing belt than get a $500,000 appearance fee.
After Opetaya relinquishes the IBF belt, he will be contested by other fighters for the new title. Currently, IBF No. 1 and No. 2 positions are vacant, with Braidis in third place and Mexican fighter Gilberto Ramirez in fourth place, so it is only fitting that Braidis and Ramirez will compete for the vacant title.
At the moment, Braits' promoter Calle Sauerland has stepped up to speak out, that is, he will go all out to facilitate the confrontation with Ramirez. Sauerland said: "Braidis will fight for the vacant title and the most likely opponent is Ramirez. Braidice really wanted to fight Opetaya again, and if you look back at that match, it was a close match, Braidis broke the bridge of his nose in the first half and shattered Opetaya's jawbone in the second half, so Braidice really wanted to have a rematch with Opetaya. ”
Sauerland continued: "Ramirez is also very good, he's a great fighter, he dominated the 168-pound super middleweight division three or four years ago, he fought Arthur Abraham, I'm Abraham's promoter, so I was in touch. The battle against Ramirez was the last game of Abraham's career, and he retired after losing to Ramirez, but he was not reconciled, unfortunately he is already old, and we can help Abraham get revenge, that is, arrange for Braidis to beat Ramirez. ”
There is news that Bradis will wait until March next year to fight again because he is recuperating, but promoter Sauerland denied this claim: "Braidis is training, this is a rumor spread by a lot of people that he is injured, in fact Bradis just sent me a boxing video yesterday and he looks great and hopes to win the title for the fourth time." ”
If Braids does face Ramirez, there is still some suspense about the outcome of the battle. Ramirez, who has moved up to the 200-pound welterweight division since losing to Dmitry Bivol last November, is looking to make a breakthrough, and he has an age advantage — 32 years old, compared to 38 years old.
Sauerland hopes that Braidis can avenge Abraham and defeat Ramirez, and believes that Abraham lost to Ramirez because he is old and past his prime, in fact, Abraham was 36 years old at the time, younger than Braidis today, and it is not clear whether Braidis can really beat Ramirez.
The winner of Braidis vs Ramirez will undoubtedly usher in a new peak of his career, and it is not ruled out that he will compete with Opetaya in the future, it will be up to him to see if that day can come?