Opetaia in the deep stages of talks to face cruiserweight beltholder.
The cruiserweight division is home to a fighter considered one of the most fearsome and destructive in all of boxing, an undefeated puncher who nobody really wants to fight.
Like a monster suddenly emerging from a dark cave, Jai Opetaia seemingly came out of nowhere when he defeated Mairis Briedis to become The Ring and IBF cruiserweight champion in 2022.
A series of violent showings in the ring have followed since, including a number of defences across two separate reigns as a world titleholder.
However, in a move that surprised many, Opetaia signed with Zuffa Boxing earlier this year. And in winning the Zuffa Boxing title over Brandon Glanton in his first fight under the promotion, he was stripped of his IBF belt.
As a result, Opetaia is a two-time world champion without ever having lost a fight, and his signing with Zuffa was thought to have limited the number of credible fighters who could challenge him.
That appears to not be the case, though.
It is being reported by BoxingScene that Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) is currently finalising a deal to face WBC champion Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs).
Mikaelian is a two-time champion himself, having previously held the WBC belt before controversially losing it to Badou Jack in 2025. Later that same year, Mikaelian rematched the Swede and won back his championship in convincing fashion.
Mikaelian’s other losses have been to Krzysztof Wlodarczyk and shared opponent Briedis, who was in his prime when he beat the Armenian in 2018.
Opetaia vs. Mikaelian is expected to land on a The Ring card later this year, and it is currently unknown if both the Zuffa and WBC titles will be on the line.
Either way, the two best fighters in the division will be facing each other, and that is never a bad thing.
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