Opetaia faces prospect of Turkey title defence
Opetaia (28-0) broke Italian rival Claudio Squeo's jaw in a five-round domination in June to retain his IBF and The Ring status.
Hopes were that Mexican star Gilberto Ramirez, owner of the WBO and WBA straps after beating Brit Chris Billam-Smith, would then accept the invitation for a blockbuster unification bout.
But Ramirez booked shoulder surgery to delay any prospect of that duel, forcing Opetaia to begin negotiations for a mandatory defence against the IBF's top-ranked Huseyin Cinkara.
Born in Germany, 40-year-old Cinkara (23-0) resides in Istanbul and has fought exclusively in Europe.
Billam-Smith dodged Opetaia's advances last year to instead pursue the Ramirez fight he ultimately lost to leave him without a title.
Confident of the commercial appeal of the bout, AAP understands Opetaia's team put a six-figure, step-aside offer to Cinkara so they could instead pursue the Billam-Smith fight.
The German refused, instead bidding for the right to host the fight in Istanbul.
Tasman Fighters boss Mick Francis, Opetaia's long-time manager, is confident they will win the bid and fight in Australia, potentially in Victoria or on the Gold Coast.
The 30-year-old Opetaia first won his world title with a 2022 upset of Mairis Briedis, despite suffering a broken jaw early in the fight.
So daunting has the prospect of an Opetaia encounter been that the Australian has been unable to convince another champion to fight him since.
In six fights since the 2022 breakthrough, only Briedis, in a 2024 rematch in Saudi Arabia, has challenged him.
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