Jai Opetaia has officially been stripped of the IBF Cruiserweight title

That it has played out as a soap opera shows that it wasn't a straight forward exercise.

I'm glad the IBF have finally got off their thumbs and announced a decision. Even if it wasn't the one most wanted to hear.

 

I'm not sure, either. But the shows seem pretty dead, by and large. Really tiny crowds. Lots of droaning of the announcers with little crowd noise. Almost like COVID cards.

It's not clicking, that's for sure. And now the first title fight they host and a recognized world champ gets stripped. And the announcers spend the whole night wondering when he's going to move up, when he clearly said afterward he wants to unify all the betls.

Well, they certainly aren't making that easier for him.

 

I've found them nothing but entertaining. Well matched fights and no waiting around between them.

The Zuffa juggernaut has only just left the station. Wait until it gets up to speed before writing it off.

 

They punished the athlete who had complied with their conditions and nobody else. Typical monied bully knob measuring crap. No time for bullies.

 

He got caught up in the middle sure but he should have seen it coming
You think Zuffa wouldn't pull a stunt like that once they have such leverage?

It's not really bullying, Jai made a choice knowing Zuffa eventually want nothing to do with the ORGs
The ORG in question used politics to protect itself long term

It's not good I fully admit that but again Jai is a grown. Man and if he didn't see such a scenario coming, he is stupid which I actually think he maybe

 

He should go to HW now. If he's the best cruiser as people say, who everyone is ducking, he can be a HW champion surely.
First fight should be against an old guy like Zhang.

 

It was predictable this would happen. This isn't good news for several reasons. I just hope all this will make Dana White reflect on his ideas and change them. I think it would be better for the boxing world, for fighters, and even for us boxing fans. One of the reasons I don't like this news at all is that it will make it even more difficult to hypothetically organize a match between the winner of the Ramirez-Benavidez and Opetaia.

 

He is signed with Zuffa. Why will the other orgs treat him any different as a heavyweight?

 

He's still the lineal champion, so it changes nothing. But he must have been stupid going to Zuffa with the aim to unify.

 

A zuffa champion will be stripped if he fights a non zuffa fighter on a non zuffa show.

Is zuffa even licenced boxing yet?

 

Who did he win the lineal championship from?

 

Opetaia had already seen the other titleholders didn't want to fight him.

He's still the lineal champion and effectively he's swapped the IBF title for the Zuffa one.

 

Briedis.

 

Who did Briedis win it from?

 

Until the variations to the Muhamad Ali Act have been finally approved, the Zuffa belt is nothing more than a piece of hardware.