Oscar De La Hoya has weighed in on the drama between Zuffa Boxing and the IBF, which Jai Opetaia unfortunately finds himself in the middle of, and has sent some serious accusations the way of Dana White.
Opetaia looked set to defend his IBF cruiserweight world title in his debut for the new promotion against Brandon Glanton, but the sanctioning body withdrew its backing just two days before fight night, citing the inaugural Zuffa belt and its legitimacy as a key factor.
The decision – which has since been put back under deliberation – left Opetaia gutted, and after his straightforward points win he reaffirmed his goal of becoming undisputed via the traditional four sanctioning bodies.
De La Hoya and Zuffa’s Dana White have long had issues, and their back and forth in the media shows no signs of dying down. It comes as little surprise, then, that the Hall of Fame fighter and Golden Boy promoter had something to say on social media about this latest drama.
“So, Jai Opetaia fought over the weekend for what he thought would be an IBF title … only to find out at the press conference that he was lied to by none other than Uncle f***ing Fester and Zuffa.
“So, let me explain. We all know the Zuffa belt is like a participation trophy that’s given to a nine-year-old at the end of a soccer game. It has the significance of a haemorrhoid on my f***ing ass. And that’s all they agreed it would be in order to get the IBF to participate in the Opetaia fight, until last week at the press conference when Fester and his friends surprised everyone and announced the Zuffa belt as a world title belt.
These motherf***ers violated rule number five of the IBF. After that, the sanction was pulled. Zuffa has no intention of following the IBF rules and used that deception to humiliate them. So [the IBF] said f**k this and they pulled out. Zuffa lied to everyone the entire time and poor Jai Opetaia suffered because of it.”
White has hinted at legal action off the back of the IBF’s decision, and there are early reports that suggest that process may have already begun, though there has been no word from Opetaia himself, or his close representatives.