Universally acknowledged World cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia 30-0 (23 KOs) put on a masterclass by outboxing and out-gunning the very durable Brandon Glanton 21-3 (18 KOs) on his way to a lopsided victory at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, on Sunday night. The rugged southpaw entered the fight steely focussed after a distracting fight week that saw him stripped of his IBF belt only days prior to the landmark promotion. Opetia entered the ring solely as Ring Magazine champion and opted to boxed intelligently throughout the early sessions, offering Glanton a moving target whilst pot shotting behind a jab from range. As the fight entered the middle rounds the champion appeared content to meet Glanton at close quarters, enjoying the better of the exchanges, trading in a fashion more suited to the Atlanta fighter. By round 8 Glanton was displaying physical signs of wear and slowed down to a pace much easier to target and was forced to withstand accurate well timed assaults from Opetia. Entering the championship rounds it became apparent that Glanton was purely surviving the frequent and clinical assaults from the champion who by round 12 had all but vaporised every ounce of ambition that the challenger might have had. Opetia spiteful and well timed punching closed the show assertively, within a whisker of forcing a stoppage by the final bell.
Hyper vigilant referee Allen Huggins harshly took a point from Glanton in round six for holding and again in the eighth for punches that strayed low. Surprisingly a point was deducted in the penultimate round for holding. Ringside Judges Eric Cheek, Patricia Morse Jarman, and David Sutherland scored the fight unanimously 119-106, crowning Opetaia as the first official Zuffa world champion.