In the eyes of many, Jai Opetaia has established himself as the top dog in the cruiserweight division over the last twelve months. Now the Australian is seeking to make the first defence of his second reign as IBF world champion but the man in the opposing corner, Jack Massey, believes he can exploit a chink in the armour of the undefeated title-holder.
A former IBO cruiserweight world champion, ‘One Smack’ Massey has always proven to be fearless when selecting opponents with the two defeats of his career coming against Richard Riakporhe and Joseph Parker, the latter being an unconventional and temporary step-up to heavyweight, but his meeting with Opetaia looks set to be the toughest test of the lot.
Although, Massey has already sprung one upset this year, that coming against Isaac Chamerlain on the Billam-Smith-Riakporhe undercard to claim the EBU European title and surge up the cruiserweight rankings, earning this world title shot on the blockbuster Beterbiev-Bivol card.
Speaking with Boxing News, Massey explained why he believes he can shock the world and put an end to Opetaia’s unbeaten streak, regardless of the fact that he is yet to experience a fight against a southpaw in his 24 professional outings to date.
“It is a very, very tough fight. It’s the first southpaw that I have come across in my professional career, but I have got Joe [Gallagher] in my corner and I have got a good corner team, we are working on things in camp and we have got a great game plan.
“He’s a very, very tough opponent and we have got a really tough night ahead of us but I am very confident of going in there and beating this guy. I am not turning up for no paydays, people know that anyway because I have said it in the past with the Parker fight.”
“I believe that he is the best in the cruiserweight division, I think that he is at the top and that he is the best of the bunch. I am there to prove myself, there is no pressure on my side. He is a good fighter, but he has shown a few little leaks here and there with the last [Mairis] Briedis fight.
“I am a good twelve-round fighter, and I come on strong towards the end. I think that is what is going to be in my favour.
“He does like to get into a fight and sometimes, it showed in the last fight, he loads up a little bit too much. I think that is why he tired off during the back end of the fight because he was looking for that knockout and he was loading up, putting everything into his shots. That is when he let Briedis come into the fight, during the back end, but we can only see on the night, things change.”
Massey represents the third Briton that Opetaia has faced within the last year but the Cheshire-based contender will be hopeful that he does not face the same fate as Jordan Thompson and Ellis Zorro on October 12th, after both were brutally knocked out within four rounds.
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