Jai Opetaia is the worst managed boxer in our era.

I just wish Opetaia had gotten a real belt. Mikaelian could have been his path to the WBC title and eventually a fight with Benavidez. It seems like Zuffa is actually making the situation worse for Opetaia because other fighters on the roster have a clear path toward legitimate championships, while Opetaia is stuck in some weird kind of limbo. That's what frustrates me.

 

I think if Benavidez doesn't fight Opetaia, it would be a huge stain on his legacy, especially because he's constantly (sometimes rightfully so) criticizing champions for ducking him. If Benavidez wants to hold other champions to that standard, he should be willing to fight the best available opponent himself.

That said, I'm not a huge fan of the idea that being the lineal champion automatically makes you better or more legitimate than someone holding the majority of the recognized belts. The lineal title is valuable because you beat the "man," but after that, there are no mandatory challengers forcing you to fight other elite contenders, or you are forced to fight against the top of the division. You can theoretically hold the lineal title while avoiding styles and fighters who might be tougher than the guy you beat to become champion. Look at Adonis Stevenson. He was the WBC and lineal light-heavy champion and was regarded as the No. 1 guy in the division, but he mostly fought decent opponents who ultimately weren't at the top of the division. He also never really pursued unification fights. In Stevenson's case, I think he deserves more blame because he had opportunities to fight the other top guys. I do think Opetaia's situation is different, though. If he beat Mikaeljan, he would, in spirit, have both the IBF and WBC belts, because he hadn't lost those belts in the ring or by ducking but by his management. In comparison, Usyk, after ducking Kabayel, or Foreman, after not fighting Tony Tucker and not fighting Axel Schulz rematch are examples where they lost the alphabet belts due to their conduct and weakened their No. 1 position despite having the lineal championship. Generally, when a lineal champion has no recognized belt and isn't facing mandatory challengers or other top contenders, I don't automatically consider him the best fighter in the division.

 

No, I don't think Benavidez is ducking Opetaia. Benavidez has said he's interested in fighting Opetaia, although he also acknowledged that Opetaia being signed with Zuffa could make the fight more difficult to make. That's significantly different from saying he wouldn't fight him at all.

If Benavidez doesn't fight Opetaia next, however, and he's still campaigning at cruiserweight, I think it would definitely start raising alarm bells about potential ducking. Opetaia is fighting Mikaeljan, who would be a perfectly reasonable next opponent for Benavidez if he wins, but if Opetaia wins, I don't really see anyone else in the cruiserweight division for Benavidez to fight. So, no, I don't think he's ducking Opetaia right now, and I'm pretty confident he won't (though Opetia fans are too eager to already call Benavidez a duck based on little evidence). But let's wait and see what happens.

 

I heard Michal Cieslak, the WBC interim champion, is going to be Benavidez's next opponent. Honestly, he doesn't poses much of a problem for Benavidez, but who else in the division does besides Opetaia?