In Tyson Fury’s increasingly desperate search for an opponent, he has now been linked with IBF Cruiserweight World Champion, Jai Opetaia.
Off the back of failed talks to fight Oleksandr Usyk to become undisputed, Fury has demanded a summer opponent before that fight is potentially revisited for the end of the year in Saudi Arabia.
A recent trip to Australia to watch his training partner and friend, Joseph Parker, headline a fight card has inspired him to fight down under – and there are a couple of suitors.
First, Fury was linked with undefeated heavyweight southpaw, Demsey McKean. Now, Opetaia’s manager, Mick Francis, has told the Sydney Morning Herald that talks have commenced for his man to get a shot at the WBC Heavyweight title.
“It’s a legitimate fight. Tyson Fury won’t get knocked out and Jai Opetaia won’t get knocked out. It’s a fight that will go the distance, it would be an absolute war.”
“It’s all about bang for buck and you couldn’t wish for a better domestic fight. Jai’s got nothing to prove in the cruiserweight division and he would take the fight in a heartbeat.
“He spars heavyweights every day of the week because cruiserweights are too small for him, they’re not strong enough.”
The article was followed up by an Instagram post from Francis’ company, Tasman Fighters, which claimed that the fight was ‘all but sealed.’
Opetaia is also a southpaw, so could be classed as good preparation for Usyk. After all, the Ukrainian was not long ago competing in the cruiserweight ranks, too.
The 27-year-old has a small number of fights at heavyweight on his undefeated record, but is currently 200lbs champion after defeating Mairis Briedis in July of last year – valiantly fighting through a broken jaw suffered early in the bout.
As with all rumoured Fury bouts – and especially since nothing has come from the man himself in this case – fans will be sceptical.