Beterbiev v Opetaia at Cruiserweight

Beterbiev is a bit old otherwise I would pick him. Opetaia is in his prime and a really good fighter to go along with being a lot bigger. It's a hard ask for Artur to win. But I still reckon it's a really competitive fight if it happens.

 

Opetaia is naturally bigger. He stops Beterbiev.

 

You expect too much from King Arthur. He is a LHW knockout artist, not a superman.

 

Big Fan of Jai ,i expect a rapid clean out of the CW division and a gradual progression up into a Heavyweight , the bloke is only 28 and I see him growing into heavy with ease .but he'll learn his craft at cruiser .

 

I picked Beterbiev because he ticks all the right boxes for me.

 

I've noticed that Jai can be pretty wild with his left when he's going for it. Beterbiev throws very damaging short punches which potentially negates Jai's movement and length. I got splinters in my ass on this one.

 

Opetaia bigger

 

Opetaia stops him and I like Beterbiev

 

Opetaia, he's too big.

 

I'm reluctant to say Beterbiev even though I am number one fanboy on here

Let's see how Beterbiev looks against Smith: who is at least the same height as Opateia and also packs a strong punch.

Then we can gauge how well Beterbiev does against people of a similar size.

 

I think Beterbiev too. For me he's naturally stronger and punches just as hard if not harder.

 

Look how he dealt with Gvozdyk who's the same height as Opetaia and there isn't much difference in power between Gvozdyk and Smith at 175...Gvozdyk probably hits slightly harder.

 

Interesting fight between two blokes who both competed in the Heavyweight division at the 2012 Olympics. Beterbiev lost to Usyk in the Quarters. He drew early on in the tournament against Michael Hunter but snuck through on a countback. Jai was eliminated first up, losing by a point to the #1 seeded fighter who fought Usyk in the final of the World Amateur Championships the previous year. Jai was still at school & only 16 when he qualified for the 2012 Olympics although had turned 17 by the time they were on. Both have gone through undefeated thus far as pros but I reckon Jai has improved the most & still has considerably more improvement left in him. I haven't watched Beterbiev in a while, but he's always been an A-level guy from what I've seen.

 

The biggest limiting factor here is time -- because, as noted, Beterbiev's not getting any younger, and of course no fight could happen before 2025. But, boy, would I love to see it....

 

Opetaia is good. Beterbiev is a next level beast. Until he fights at CW it is hard to make an accurate prediction. 25 pounds from 175 to 200 is significant.