Thanks. CW is weak right now for sure but Jai's skills are plain to see and he ticked a lot of boxes in the first fight against Briedis. Briedis is just an excellent fighter and, as said, a very complete one and even an 39 y/o version of him is a very tough night's work for anyone.
In terms of qualities, Briedis is the best cruiserweight in the division along with Opetia, but the problem is his age, Opetia easily beats all the others in the division...
Some people call him the best CW, if this is the performance of the best in the division, that means division is trash and he is not that good. Beterbiev that KO'ed Smith, will crush Opetaia that fought Briedis now.
He's very good and no one questions his heart, but his power and stamina remain a question mark. He looks great crushing cans, but a 39 year old man was staging a late comeback against him, and as good as Briedis is, that raises some question marks.
But so far, not at the highest level. I think you said right with "decent," at least in terms of what he ha proven.
Opetaia was fairly clinical until Briedis shook the rust off and started opening up. I do think it is a style match up thing but Jai has his vulnerabilities. Very wide shots, hands down, footwork can be timed as he pounces, caught with a wide stance. . That said it is Briedis is the worst style match up for him in the division.
Struggling with a 39 year old who was 2 years out of the ring shows you the truth. Cruiserweight is a weak division. Prime David Haye ends him in 3-4
Jai has been excellent especially considering before the first Breidis fight he had only fought at Aussie domestic level. He got thrown into the fire and came out better at the other end.
He dominated the first 8-9 rounds and then maybe took his foot off the gas or was feeling it a little bit and went into survival mode. A wins a win. He won convincingly against a top class crusier who was in the shape of his life. Make no mistake about it Opetaia is an elite fighter, he crushes everyone in the division but I hope that's where he remains. He's too small to step up to heavy.
