Opetaia fancies his chances against Usyk

This fight would likely be more competitive at cruiser. At heavy I just see Usyk walking him down and battering him. Opetaia himself has good mobility, respectable boxing skills, and a significant youth advantage but despite all of this he gets hit more than he should.
 
Age will eventually catch with Usyk, he is 37, Jai Opetaia is 25.

Right handed southpaw vs Left handed southpaw, Usyk could dominate the same way Crawford did to Spence, but that fight won't happen right now, if I'm not mistaken Fury rematch is more appealing, no-one can go against the flow of money in boxing, expect god.
 
i saw Opetaia barely scrape past his last fight, he looked really bad towards the end and was close to being stopped, someone like Usyk would destroy him with constant pressure

i think Opetaia needs to be very careful, he may end up getting burnt out having struggles like he did in that fight, and Briedis is an old man
 
Kovalev's Man Bag said:
This fight would likely be more competitive at cruiser. At heavy I just see Usyk walking him down and battering him. Opetaia himself has good mobility, respectable boxing skills, and a significant youth advantage but despite all of this he gets hit more than he should.
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I agree, but even at Cruiserweight Usyk would win comfortably imo. Normally he weighs in at just 100kg for Heavyweight fights, so he doesn’t even need to cut that much weight (I believe Usyk came in a little bit heavier against Fury though)
 
Is he talking about basketball? Table tennis?

Because he can't be talking about boxing, not in boxing
 
Opetaia is very good but Usyk is great. I don't think it would go well for Jai
 
Blastbeat said:
Opetaia is very good but Usyk is great. I don't think it would go well for Jai
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He needs to concentrate on Jack Massey. That's who he's fighting next. Usyk isn't even in the same division and he has no incentive to take that fight right now. Opetaia doesn't bring much to the table other than a world title at cruiser.
 
Things often don't work out well for fighters going down in weight. That said, if Usyk is still Usyk he should absolutely wreck Opetaia.
 
Noveltymortar said:
Things often don't work out well for fighters going down in weight. That said, if Usyk is still Usyk he should absolutely wreck Opetaia.
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Usyk would be the clear A-side in that fight. He wouldn't necessarily have to move down, Opetaia would likely need to move up. What Opetaia sees is an opportunity to win 3 of the 4 heavyweight world titles and the biggest payday of his career. He would have everything to gain, Usyk would have almost nothing.
 
Kovalev's Man Bag said:
Usyk would be the clear A-side in that fight. He wouldn't necessarily have to move down, Opetaia would likely need to move up. What Opetaia sees is an opportunity to win 3 of the 4 heavyweight world titles and the biggest payday of his career. He would have everything to gain, Usyk would have almost nothing.
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I recall Usyk saying he was thinking about moving back down to cruiserweight after settling his business with Fury so that's where I thought they'd meet. However, if they meet at heavy I'd give Opetaia even less chance.
 
Noveltymortar said:
I recall Usyk saying he was thinking about moving back down to cruiserweight after settling his business with Fury so that's where I thought they'd meet. However, if they meet at heavy I'd give Opetaia even less chance.
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Usyk did say recently that he might move back down to cruiser but he was just kicking around the idea.

Most recently though he said that he wanted to rematch Fury, which will be in December, and he was also interested in fighting Joshua a third time (before he got wrecked by Dubois). Those 2 opponents represent the biggest paydays for him out there and both are at heavyweight. Rematching Dubois would be yet another big money fight for him. Such lucrative high profile match-ups like these aren't available at cruiser. Opetaia isn't mainstream or a draw.

So, if he wants to fight Usyk then he'll probably have to move up unless Usyk is willing to make that concession. Usyk calls the shots Jai Opetaia doesn't.
 
Usyk will only be fighting one of Hearns or Warrens fighters if he wants to be well paid, that is where the money is

i fully expect him to fight Dubios again if he beats Fury in December
 
treelo said:
Usyk will only be fighting one of Hearns or Warrens fighters if he wants to be well paid, that is where the money is

i fully expect him to fight Dubios again if he beats Fury in December
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Usyk is signed with the Saudis. They co-promote him. He'll be paid handsomely regardless of who he fights. It's just that his biggest paydays will always be the most high profile match-ups (Fury rematch/3rd Joshua fight/Dubois rematch). Opetaia isn't high profile but Usyk would still make millions fighting him.
 
Opetaia has the stance and skills of Usyk. But Usyk would beat him on sheer toughness and grit though, stop him in the later rounds.
 
Badr Hari said:
Opetaia has the stance and skills of Usyk. But Usyk would beat him on sheer toughness and grit though, stop him in the later rounds.
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I don't think that Opetaia has the skills of Usyk. He's not as crafty and had serious struggles with an old Briedis on 2 occasions. Usyk edged a prime Briedis after only 13 total professional fights experience. That version of Briedis likely would've beaten Opetaia. I have to agree with what Chris Billam-Smith said in the press yesterday. If Opetaia ever shows that he's an ATG or a 1st ballot HOF fighter then maybe I'll change my opinion.

“I think people that are saying he’s like the next Usyk, which I don’t agree with. I think Usyk is a much, much better fighter than Opetaia.”

Jai Opetaia comparisons to Oleksandr Usyk brutally played down by British world champion
 
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