Jai Opetaia to defend IBF, Ring cruiserweight world titles against Claudio Squeo

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

When Jai Opetaia goes to work next week he will be carrying on the family business he joined at the age of eight.
A fourth generation boxer on his dad's side and third generation on his mum's, the IBF and Ring magazine cruiserweight champion grew up in the boxing ring — literally.
His father Tapu is still his coach.
"I didn't have a choice really," Opetaia said.
"It was just something that was passed down to me."
He won his first amateur fight as an eight-year-old and has not looked back.
At 16 he made the national team for the London Games, becoming the youngest Olympic boxer in Australia's history.
He credits that experience — a teenager fighting against grown men at heavyweight — for developing his technique, skill and fight IQ.
"They were 10 times stronger than me," Opetaia said.
"They would have thrown me around like a rag doll but I had greater boxing ability."
Opetaia captured the world title in 2022, fighting nine of 12 rounds with a badly-broken jaw to beat Mairis Briedis in a bloody war.
Since then he has defended his belts five times, winning four of those contests by brutal knockout.
The 29-year-old boasts an undefeated 27-0 record and is now regarded as one of the most devastating power punchers in the sport.
But despite his fearsome reputation among boxing fans and his status as Australia's best pound-for-pound boxer he is far from a household name.
That is because in the brash world of professional boxing Opetaia flies under the radar, preferring to let his performances in the ring do the talking.
"I'm not trying to be anyone I'm not," Opetaia said.
Next Sunday he defends his title against little-known challenger Claudio Squeo at Broadbeach, a few minutes down the road from the Surfers Paradise gym where he trains.
While also undefeated, Squeo enters as a 26-1 underdog having never fought outside of his native Italy.
Still, the June 8 fight is a risky proposition.
An upset loss could jeopardise a blockbuster unification bout with Mexican Gilberto Ramirez who holds the WBA and WBO belts, slated for the under card of the Canelo Alvarez vs Terrence Crawford super fight in September.
For Opetaia it is the opportunity of a lifetime and a chance to cement his place as one of the biggest names in the sport.
"For someone from our neck of the woods, an Australian, a Pacific Islander, to be on one of those cards fighting for a world title — that's the definition of hard work," he said.
"For young Australian fighters to see people like me up there fighting on the biggest cards in the world, it's special."
But he knows there is no guarantee.
It is a fight Opetaia has been chasing for more than a year, one he says Ramirez has repeatedly turned down.
"He wants to get paid, I want more belts. If you're the best I feel like the money will come, all you have got to do is keep winning.
"No-one else is the best in the cruiserweight division until they beat me."