Jai Opetaia says Turki Alalshikh told him he wanted him to fight David Benavidez on Cruiserweight.
The IBF champion Opetaia (28-0, 22 costs) welcomes the fight against ‘the Mexican Monster’ Benavidez, but only after capturing the remaining three titles he needs to become an undisputed champion at Cruiserweight.
Opetaia’s path to undisputed
- BADOU JACK: WBC
- Gilberto Ramirez: WBA and WBO
First, on the Opetaia Agenda is a defense of his IBF Cruiserweight title against the compulsory Huseyin (23-0, 19 COs) on December 6, 2025 in the Gold Coast Convention Center, BroadBeach. The 40-year-old Cinkara is not considered a threat to Opetaia.
‘They want this battle in Saudi in January. We are approaching. There is a game plan now, “Jai Opetaia said Fighting type About Turki Alalshikh who wants to feed a unification fight between him and the WBC Cruiserweight champion Badou Jack in January.
If Turki Alalshikh can pave the way for Opetaia to get the two fights he needs in 2026 to become the undisputed champion, he can be free to face Benavidez with the early 2027. It is an ideal scenario because it can take a little longer depending on the bathtub or Zurdo Ramirez to avoid the fight.
You can imagine that they want a lot of money to fight Opetaia because they know that Turki supports him. Since they are both likely to be significant, they can drag their feet and not want to lose their titles.
Benavidez in saudi plans
“We got Badou Jack. If we win it, we have Gilberto Ramirez. When we did so, he (Turki) told me that he wanted benavidez to come to Cruiserweight, and we were fighting against benavidez. I would like to fight against benavidez. Once we mark the box, the heavyweight chapter will start, ‘says Opetaia.
Heavyweight chapter delayed
As it sounds, Opetaia may not move to heavyweight soon. He says he doesn’t care about money, which is a good thing, because he will miss a huge pay day against Oleksandr Ulsyk by choosing to take his time before he goes up. USYK is likely to be retired by the time Jai moves to heavyweight in two or three years.
Dan Ambrose has followed boxing since 2011 and shares his passion for the biggest stars and fights of the sport.
Last updated on 10/02/2025
