Before making his planned, long-term move to the heavyweight division, it appears new Zuffa Boxing signing Jai Opetaia wants to fight David Benavidez before he leaves cruiserweight forever.
The southpaw puncher fought his way to the highest echelons at 200 pounds after beating Mairis Briedis by decision (twice), together with Knockout of the Year contenders against Huseyin Cinkara and David Nyika in 2025 alone.
But he is yet to score a signature win that could take him from the best in his class to being considered among the best in the sport, like pound-for-pound caliber fighters Dmitry Bivol, Oleksandr Usyk, and David Benavidez.
Opetaia would welcome a Benavidez fight sooner, than later, particularly as El Monstro rises from light heavyweight to fight Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas, this summer. Should Benavidez win, he’d wrest the WBA and WBO championship belts from ‘Zurdo’s’ waist, and a unification bout with Opetaia could be on the cards.
“I am ready to fight,” the 30-year-old told Fight Hub TV. “I have been chasing these big fights for a while. I want to become undisputed, so it is what it is and I am ready when they are.
“If that [Benavidez] fight comes, let’s do it.”
While the bulk of Opetaia’s career has come at cruiserweight, if not higher, Benavidez has trodden a different path, oft-overlooked as an inconvenient challenger, Benavidez grew tired of waiting on a ‘Canelo’ Alvarez fight and wrote his own headlines by stomping over solid opponents, from David Lemiuex, Caleb Plant, and Demetrius Andrade at super middleweight, to Oleksandr Gvozdyk, David Morrell, and Anthony Yarde at light heavyweight.
“Respectfully, I have got a lot of time for him,” Opetaia said. “I have seen some of his interviews, he holds himself well and he is fighting for the right reasons.”
The fight could sell well in numerous key markets, too — whether that’s Benavidez’s self-professed home-base in Las Vegas, or in Opetaia’s backyard on the Gold Coast in Australia.
“It’s good, that is a massive fight,” Opetaia said. “Let’s get it on, Benavidez.”
Before Opetaia can think of Benavidez, ‘Zurdo’, or anyone else in the division, he must first dispatch Brandon Glanton, whom he’s linked with fighting on his Zuffa Boxing debut, tentatively scheduled for March.
Opetaia was supposed to box Noel Mikaelyan but that has since been canned. No other fights have yet been announced for Mar. 8 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.