Jay Opetaya is one of the most dominant fighters in professional boxing today, and now in the 200-pound welterweight division, he's widely regarded as the best fighter in his field. At the same time, many people feel that the 28-year-old Opetaya has more room to stretch, that is, to finally rise to the 200+ heavyweight class to make a breakthrough.
With 24 wins and 19 knockouts, Opetaya will make his debut in Saudi Arabia on May 18 for a mat bout between Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk against his "old friend" Myris Braitis who is expected to reclaim the IBF welterweight title.
Originally, Opetaya was the owner of the IBF belt, but unfortunately he was unable to fight Braidis for various reasons last December, and instead chose Ellis Zorro, who did not meet the ranking requirements, and was stripped of the title by the IBF. Now, Opetaya's overarching goal is to get another win over Bradis, at which point he will clear the way of the road.
Opetaya, who is from Australia, has European and Samoan ancestry, and comes from a boxing family, his father has been a boxer for four generations, and his mother has been a boxer for three generations, in short, the blood of boxing flows in Opetaya's body. In addition, Australian football star Tim Cahill and rugby star Ben Roberts are Opetaya's cousins, so there is no doubt about his athletic genes.
In his spare time, Opetaya had a wealth of experience, winning gold at the 2011 Junior Championships just a month after his 16th birthday, and then competing at London 2012 at the age of 17, when he was the youngest fighter to compete at that Olympics, but lost in the first round to future bronze medallist Teimor Mamadov due to his young and inexperienced experience.
In 2015, at the age of 19, Opetaya decided not to wait for the next Olympics and instead turned professional, and after just six fights, he claimed the Australian national title. By 2018, Opetaya had won the Australian, Eastern & Pacific, IBF Junior and WBO Asia-Pacific Welterweight titles.
In July 2022, Opetaia finally got his wish, beating veteran Braidis on points to win the IBF welterweight title and officially realize his dream of becoming a world champion after suffering a fracture in his jaw.
Although the rematch with Braedith is yet to take place, Opelaya has set his sights further afield, hoping to get a unification fight with WBC Champion Noel Michaelian, WBA Champion Gilberto Ramirez, and WBO Champion Billam Smith. Many people feel that according to Opetaya's strength and form, he will have a good chance of defeating the other three champions.
However, Opetaya's goal is to go beyond unifying the welterweight division, and he plans to emulate Usyk and eventually move into the heavyweight division to become a boxing champion.
Opetaya shares a lot of similarities with Usyk, both are left-handed, and both are quite technically proficient, although Opetaya's height of 1.88 meters and reach of 1.93 meters are slightly inferior to Usyk's height of 1.91 meters and reach of 1.98 meters, but at least he can move up to the heavyweight division.
A few months ago, WBC champion Fury hired Opetaya as a sparring partner to help prepare for the fight against Usyk, and that says a lot. It is understood that Fury and Opetaya had 5 rounds of actual combat, and it was rumored that Fury was beaten, and then he ended his cooperation with Opetaya, on the grounds that although Opetaya is also a left-hander, he cannot effectively imitate Usyk's style, but this statement has been widely questioned, and if Fury was beaten, if true, it shows that Opetaya does have two brushes.
British promoter Eddie Hearn, who maintains a partnership with Opetaya, has spoken out that he is one of the best fighters in the world and believes that Opetaya will follow in Usyk's footsteps. "I'm sure Opetaya will do the same thing as Usyk, and I hope to be the undisputed welterweight hegemon before he moves up to heavyweight," Hearn said. ”
Former WBC welterweight champion Tony Belliu agrees with Hearn and finds Opetaya very difficult to deal with. "In the ring, Opetaya is more of a 'bad guy,' and I'm not sure anyone can beat him, but he's quite talented," Belliu said. ”
It remains to be seen whether Opethaya can become the second Usyk, but his first question is to clear the welterweight division, and it is better to become the undisputed champion of the division, at least to take another belt, as long as he has these halos, Opetaya's fight in the heavyweight division will be particularly eye-catching, he may succeed, or he may be destroyed, in short, if he unifies the welterweight division, Opethaya can lock in the future Hall of Fame in advance, and wish him good luck.