Opetaia gets title shot after Jake Paul snub
GOLD Coast is in the box seat to host a world title bout between the Glitter Strip’s very own Jai Opetaia and Mairis Briedis.
Opetaia has trumped Jake Paul by securing his first shot at a world title, with IBF cruiserweight champion Briedis agreeing to defend his belt in Australia on April 6, and national heavyweight champion Justis Huni will feature on the same card.
Briedis raised eyebrows throughout the boxing world recently when he got a tattoo and made a rap song in a desperate attempt to get a multimillion-dollar fight against Youtube star Paul, who claimed he’d never heard of the Latvian slugger.
Now, Briedis has finally relented on that pursuit and will give mandatory challenger Opetaia a shot at his crown in the Aussie’s backyard.
This will be the first world title fight held in Australia since 2017, when Jeff Horn successfully defended his WBO welterweight belt against Gary Corcoran.
Dean Lonergan, who promoted that Horn fight, is also promoting Briedis-opetaia and spoke of Opetaia’s desire to have the bout on the Gold Coast, with the city in conten
tion with Sydney, Brisbane and Newcastle to host the event.
“Jai has now been residing on the Gold Coast for the last 18 months and he has come to love the place,” Lonergan said.
“It is the perfect environment for his training, to get the right sparring and he would love the opportunity to have this fight on the Gold Coast.”
With Justis Huni’s addition to the card it will be a huge double-header.
Briedis has a brilliant record of 28-1 with 20 knockouts. His only loss was a close majority decision to undefeated superstar Oleksandr Usyk, who went from unified cruiserweight champion to now heavyweight champion after beating Anthony Joshua.
Briedis, 37, has no fear fighting on the road; he’s racked up important victories in the USA, England, Germany and Greece during his illustrious career and he will be the overwhelming favourite against 26-year-old Opetaia.