Dana White, the Zuffa Boxing CEO who has positioned himself as a de facto disruptor in the sport’s promotional landscape, said he wants reigning Zuffa cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia to fight unbeaten heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk. The pitch arrives at a narrow window: Usyk has publicly outlined a three-fight retirement plan beginning with a May 23 bout against Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza, and Opetaia has just been stripped of his IBF cruiserweight title for a second time.
However, Usyk’s own roadmap leaves little obvious room for the fight White envisions. Speaking to Inside the Ring, per ESPN, Usyk laid out his closing stretch in detail.
“Listen, Rico [Verhoeven] this is first. Second, it’s who wins, Wardley or Dubois, and third fight, it’s my friend, greedy belly Tyson Fury.”
That sequence, Verhoeven followed by the winner of Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois and then Tyson Fury, accounts for every remaining fight in Usyk’s stated plan. If White wants Opetaia in the picture, he would need Usyk to either extend the timeline or replace one of those names.
Why Opetaia Is White’s Pick
Opetaia is the clearest flagship fighter on Zuffa Boxing’s roster. The Australian beat Brandon Glanton by unanimous decision on March 8 at the Meta Apex to claim Zuffa’s inaugural cruiserweight championship. But the bout triggered a sanctioning-body collision that ultimately cost him his IBF belt.
According to ESPN, the IBF withdrew sanction three days before the fight and later said it had been misled about the nature of Zuffa’s championship, which it had been told would be “characterized as a trophy or token of recognition” rather than eligible for a unification bout. On March 19, the IBF’s board voted to strip Opetaia, the second time the organization has taken the belt from him.
SI.com reported that the IBF cited its own rules: if a champion participates in an unsanctioned contest within the prescribed weight limit, “the title will be declared vacant whether the Champion wins or loses the bout.” The sanctioning body said its rules provide “structure and transparency” and serve not only the champion but also contenders waiting for their opportunity.
That stripping, paradoxically, may strengthen White’s hand. With the IBF belt gone, Opetaia’s promotional future is now more clearly tethered to Zuffa Boxing rather than the traditional sanctioning structure.
Timing and Leverage
White’s public interest in the matchup is as much about branding as it is about matchmaking. He has previously said he wants to bring the UFC model to boxing, signing “the most talented people in the world” and making the biggest fights possible. He also confirmed earlier this year that Zuffa had been in contact with Usyk’s camp.
The calculation is straightforward. Usyk is one of the sport’s last truly elite free-floating attractions, a fighter whose late-career window is closing on a defined schedule. If White can attach Opetaia’s name to that orbit, even in conversation, it elevates Zuffa Boxing’s credibility before the promotion has fully established itself.
The obstacles are just as clear. Any fight between the two would require navigating a weight-class gap, with Opetaia fighting at cruiserweight and Usyk campaigning at heavyweight. It would also require Usyk to deviate from a retirement plan he has already made public in detail. Those are real barriers.
What Stands in the Way
Usyk’s immediate commitments are locked in on the heavyweight side. Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO), a former kickboxing champion making only his second professional boxing appearance, comes first on May 23. After that, Usyk wants the Wardley-Dubois winner, and then Fury, the man he has already beaten twice.
White’s comments, reported by Boxing News, read more like a statement of intent than an announcement of talks. The distinction matters because many proposed fights in boxing fail to materialize.
What is concrete: Opetaia is Zuffa’s champion, the IBF belt is gone, and White is openly lobbying for elite-level matchups that would give his promotion instant legitimacy. Whether Usyk’s camp takes the call depends on whether the business case can compete with a retirement plan that already has three names written in.
Usyk fights Verhoeven on May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza. Until that bout is done, White’s pitch for Opetaia remains public positioning, a signal that Zuffa Boxing wants to operate at the top of the sport, even if the sport’s biggest names have not yet agreed to meet it there.
