IBF want Opetaia to pull out of Dec. 23 fight or he will be stripped.

How about **** the IBF.

 

Dec 09 2023

Jai Opetaia hopes to fight the winner of Billam-Smith vs. Masternak in February

JAI OPETAIA has warned Chris Billam-Smith to be wary of ‘old bull’ Mateusz Masternak – and hopes to fight the winner in February.

Opetaia is currently in Australia preparing for his December 23 world title defence against Ellis Zorro in Riyadh.

But the IBF champion will be keeping a close eye on Bournemouth this weekend when heavy favourite Billam-Smith fights for the first time since beating Lawrence Okolie at the home of AFC Bournemouth in May.

And although Masternak is as wide as 3/1 with some bookmakers, Opetaia believes it will not be a straightforward night’s work for CBS.

“I’m not sure how it goes,” Opetaia told Boxing News. “It’s a good fight.

“Masternak is very experienced, has been around for a long time and is a good boxer. He’s a bit long in the tooth but those old bulls have still got it.

“Then Chris Billam-Smith is tough, he always comes to fight and it’s hard to beat someone who doesn’t want to lose. He believes in himself.

“I hope it’s a good fight for the crowd and I hope whoever wins reaches out so we can make that fight happen.”

Opetaia has made no secret of his desire to win the WBO belt, which Billam-Smith claimed with his upset victory against Okolie.

And the 28-year-old Australian is hoping to secure a shot at it in the first half of next year regardless of who wins at the Bournemouth International Centre.

He added: “We just had some family banter around the WBO belt. It’s something that I’ve always been chasing since I was a younger kid. We’ve always been making jokes about it.

“It would be awesome to have that WBO so when that time comes, we will get the job done.”

https://boxingnewsonline.net/jai-op...nner-of-billam-smith-vs-masternak-in-february

I think his best bet might be Mikealyan for WBC if all goes well against Zorro & he still wants to fight in Feb (preferably on the Fury vs Usyk card as the exposure would be massive for Jai)

Mikaelyan might be amenable with the Saudi money & enough time would have passed for Mikaelyan as well since the Makabu fight to get back in the ring

I don't see CBS willing to go so soon after fighting Masternak plus he is with Boxxer & a rematch with fellow Boxxer signed fighter Riakporhe is probably next in line for him

 

Hope Opetaia bins his IBF title, fights Zorro and then challenges Billam-Smith for his WBO title. But if Billam-Smith is smart, he won't risk his title to Opetaia, particularly if Opetaia isn't bringing a belt to the table himself.

 

Billam-Smith is signed with Boxxer like Riakporhe & Ben Shalom probably made Riakporhe pull out of the purse bid to fight Opetaia as he won't work with Matchroom

Riakporhe claimed that he is next in line for the winner of CBS vs Masternak which would make sense now as CBS won & it will be an in house title fight plus a chance for CBS to avenge his earlier loss to Riakporhe

Jai supposedly has a 2 fight deal with the Saudi's & wants to fight in Feb, I can only think of Mikaelyan (WBC title holder) as a realistic possibility for that, would be great if Saudi's can make that happen on same card as Fury vs Usyk, would be a PPV worth buying

 

Briedis is still a genuine threat unless age has totally caught up with him since the first fight. Definitely think he's deserves a rematch despite the inactivity due to how close the first fight was/and the fact that had been the man in the division since Usyk went up.