Who do you think should be Opetaia's first heavyweight opponent?

[Sweet Dick Willie]

There's absolutely no one beating or him at cruiser

[cormack]

all this talk about HW is frankly nonsense .
Ok so he is a top CW but still has a long way to go and develop within his weight category .
Its not a given he can beat Zurdo !

and is he really big enough to grow into HW ????
IMHO not really

[joshj909]

Chisora? I know he's used up but that's the point. Usyk has a very easy fight then up against Chisora who I think he probably learned from more than most others he faced at Heavyweight. He's a veteran who would use his weight, strength and veteran tactics. Big fight financially for them both before Chisora retires.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Chisora? I know he's used up but that's the point. Usyk has a very easy fight then up against Chisora who I think he probably learned from more than most others he faced at Heavyweight. He's a veteran who would use his weight, strength and veteran tactics. Big fight financially for them both before Chisora retires.

After Wallin, Chisora will probably fight only one more time.

[joshj909]

Chisora? I know he's used up but that's the point. Usyk has a very easy fight then up against Chisora who I think he probably learned from more than most others he faced at Heavyweight. He's a veteran who would use his weight, strength and veteran tactics. Big fight financially for them both before Chisora retires.

After Wallin, Chisora will probably fight only one more time.

Yep, and in an ideal world Opetaia only fights once more at cruiserweight against Zurdo.

[Sweet Dick Willie]

all this talk about HW is frankly nonsense .
Ok so he is a top CW but still has a long way to go and develop within his weight category .
Its not a given he can beat Zurdo !

and is he really big enough to grow into HW ????
IMHO not really

Zurdo has nothing on him!

[cormack]

all this talk about HW is frankly nonsense .
Ok so he is a top CW but still has a long way to go and develop within his weight category .
Its not a given he can beat Zurdo !

and is he really big enough to grow into HW ????
IMHO not really

Zurdo has nothing on him!

I have never been a zurdo fan but the guy can really box and move , takes and holds a shot well and fires back hard .
We will see hopefully in time and I would like Jai to win but it is no pushover .

[funso banjo baby]

He looks pretty good but obviously the zurdo fight must be made at all costs.

If usyk sticks around we could see some extremely interesting defences against moses and jai but its unlikely

[dempseyfire]

There's absolutely no one beating or him at cruiser

The cruiserweight division is absolute garbage right now but IMO he needs to fight Ramirez before a move up to HW.

And absolute no to Chisora as a fight fight in the division . . .Derek is a warrior but it's a TERRIBLE style matchup for him and despite having a few upset wins in recent years the guy is going to be in bad shape neurologically in as soon as 10-15 years with the amount of punishment he's taken.

Opetai will be coming in as a champ . . no need to match him with an old gimmie. See how he does with a slower but powerful puncher like Ajagba.

[joshj909]

There's absolutely no one beating or him at cruiser

The cruiserweight division is absolute garbage right now but IMO he needs to fight Ramirez before a move up to HW.

And absolute no to Chisora as a fight fight in the division . . .Derek is a warrior but it's a TERRIBLE style matchup for him and despite having a few upset wins in recent years the guy is going to be in bad shape neurologically in as soon as 10-15 years with the amount of punishment he's taken.

Opetai will be coming in as a champ . . no need to match him with an old gimmie. See how he does with a slower but powerful puncher like Ajagba.

Chisora has been the litmus test for world level for a long time. If you can't beat him you either don't have what it takes or you need to put in a lot of work to change it. Opetaia would learn a lot from the fight, win or lose.

[Noxy]

Miller possibly

[Cyclops]

Huni is a hype job for the Australian casuals and a KO waiting to happen. I'm sure he'll be matched excruciatingly safe until they're forced into fighting a true contender and they'd be best off cashing him out in an all-Australian derby with Jai. Easy starter heavyweight opponent for Opetaia for maximum dosh.

[Cyclops]

all this talk about HW is frankly nonsense .
Ok so he is a top CW but still has a long way to go and develop within his weight category .
Its not a given he can beat Zurdo !

and is he really big enough to grow into HW ????
IMHO not really

Have to say, I wouldn't be surprised if Zurdo pissed on everyone's chips in that one. He beat the crap out of CBS and Opetaia isn't exactly hard to hit, is he? Can nobody else see Ramirez lighting him up like a Christmas tree?

With regards to size, I noticed Hearn doing a lot of self-conscious hunching during the weigh-in. David Nyika was supposed to be 6'6 but even when he put his trainers on, Hearn seemed at least as tall which never seems a problem with genuine 6'6 AJ, and more noticeably Hearn towered Opetaia. Opetaia is obviously a big bloke in normal human terms but is more like a fighter from a mythical division between LHW and CW rather than a small HW boiling down like Usyk, Holyfield or David Haye.

[joshj909]

all this talk about HW is frankly nonsense .
Ok so he is a top CW but still has a long way to go and develop within his weight category .
Its not a given he can beat Zurdo !

and is he really big enough to grow into HW ????
IMHO not really

Have to say, I wouldn't be surprised if Zurdo pissed on everyone's chips in that one. He beat the crap out of CBS and Opetaia isn't exactly hard to hit, is he? Can nobody else see Ramirez lighting him up like a Christmas tree?

With regards to size, I noticed Hearn doing a lot of self-conscious hunching during the weigh-in. David Nyika was supposed to be 6'6 but even when he put his trainers on, Hearn seemed at least as tall which never seems a problem with genuine 6'6 AJ, and more noticeably Hearn towered Opetaia. Opetaia is obviously a big bloke in normal human terms but is more like a fighter from a mythical division between LHW and CW rather than a small HW boiling down like Usyk, Holyfield or David Haye.

Opetaia is listed as only an inch shorter than Usyk and Kabayel. Same height as Chisora. If he can use his speed and work rate to his advantage, these guys have shown us that height doesn't matter.

[margaret thatcher]

nyika was listed at 6'4 in the tale of the tape rather than the previous 6'6

jai is a bit smaller than usyk

[Cyclops]

all this talk about HW is frankly nonsense .
Ok so he is a top CW but still has a long way to go and develop within his weight category .
Its not a given he can beat Zurdo !

and is he really big enough to grow into HW ????
IMHO not really

Have to say, I wouldn't be surprised if Zurdo pissed on everyone's chips in that one. He beat the crap out of CBS and Opetaia isn't exactly hard to hit, is he? Can nobody else see Ramirez lighting him up like a Christmas tree?

With regards to size, I noticed Hearn doing a lot of self-conscious hunching during the weigh-in. David Nyika was supposed to be 6'6 but even when he put his trainers on, Hearn seemed at least as tall which never seems a problem with genuine 6'6 AJ, and more noticeably Hearn towered Opetaia. Opetaia is obviously a big bloke in normal human terms but is more like a fighter from a mythical division between LHW and CW rather than a small HW boiling down like Usyk, Holyfield or David Haye.

Opetaia is listed as only an inch shorter than Usyk and Kabayel. Same height as Chisora. If he can use his speed and work rate to his advantage, these guys have shown us that height doesn't matter.

Size does matter, though. If it didn't, Usyk wouldn't be eating himself up to 220+ to fight the big guys. There are welterweights who are 6 foot plus. They don't have the frame to be effective in the highest weight classes. You can't compare someone like Chisora, who probably has to turn sideways to fit in a door, and Opetaia, who is just a naturally smaller guy. The point Steven French made stands: can he actually carry the extra 20 pounds he'll put on to compete at heavyweight and still be effective?

Chisora is also an example of a shorter heavyweight who pretty much got his sh*t pushed in every time he fought a world class heavyweight anyway. His best wins against giants are Joyce and Pulev, who were both shot, and Helenius who was always poor (I know Del didn't get the decision but we all know he won). Isn't Chisora a bad comparison to make if we're going to hope for Jai to be successful?

[Cyclops]

nyika was listed at 6'4 in the tale of the tape rather than the previous 6'6

That makes sense.

[Sweet Dick Willie]

Nyika was able to hit him a couple times, that is true. And yes, he is hittable. If and when he moves, or even takes the fight against Zurdo, he needs to be better defence wise.

[Perkin Warbeck]

He should unify the belts at cruiserweight, two or three more fights, and then move up to heavyweight. Either Ramirez or Jack would be ideal for his next fight.

Someone not too dangerous like Charles Martin, Dillian Whyte or Otto Wallin would be okay for a first heavyweight fight.

[margaret thatcher]

ya opetai has hardly cleaned out cruiser like usyk did. he's beat 1 top 10 opponent, and then a bunch of very fringe guys. no unification bouts. some opponents like thompson and zoro were nowhere even on the world radar till he fought them. same goes for nyika/cinkara. who is his best opponent after briedis?

the zurdo fight should happen. zurdo has a dad body at cruiser yet he's boxing as good as he ever has. skills miles above the guys jai has been wrecking. i would still favour jai but he needs that type of fight to stamp himself at cruiser.

after that, move to hw if he's looking for bigger fights.

[joshj909]

Have to say, I wouldn't be surprised if Zurdo pissed on everyone's chips in that one. He beat the crap out of CBS and Opetaia isn't exactly hard to hit, is he? Can nobody else see Ramirez lighting him up like a Christmas tree?

With regards to size, I noticed Hearn doing a lot of self-conscious hunching during the weigh-in. David Nyika was supposed to be 6'6 but even when he put his trainers on, Hearn seemed at least as tall which never seems a problem with genuine 6'6 AJ, and more noticeably Hearn towered Opetaia. Opetaia is obviously a big bloke in normal human terms but is more like a fighter from a mythical division between LHW and CW rather than a small HW boiling down like Usyk, Holyfield or David Haye.

Opetaia is listed as only an inch shorter than Usyk and Kabayel. Same height as Chisora. If he can use his speed and work rate to his advantage, these guys have shown us that height doesn't matter.

Size does matter, though. If it didn't, Usyk wouldn't be eating himself up to 220+ to fight the big guys. There are welterweights who are 6 foot plus. They don't have the frame to be effective in the highest weight classes. You can't compare someone like Chisora, who probably has to turn sideways to fit in a door, and Opetaia, who is just a naturally smaller guy. The point Steven French made stands: can he actually carry the extra 20 pounds he'll put on to compete at heavyweight and still be effective?

Chisora is also an example of a shorter heavyweight who pretty much got his sh*t pushed in every time he fought a world class heavyweight anyway. His best wins against giants are Joyce and Pulev, who were both shot, and Helenius who was always poor (I know Del didn't get the decision but we all know he won). Isn't Chisora a bad comparison to make if we're going to hope for Jai to be successful?

I think it is a useful comparison when you consider the skill difference between Opetaia and Chisora.

[Sweet Dick Willie]

Hey Maggie, did you really use the term "dad body"

[Cyclops]

Opetaia is listed as only an inch shorter than Usyk and Kabayel. Same height as Chisora. If he can use his speed and work rate to his advantage, these guys have shown us that height doesn't matter.

Size does matter, though. If it didn't, Usyk wouldn't be eating himself up to 220+ to fight the big guys. There are welterweights who are 6 foot plus. They don't have the frame to be effective in the highest weight classes. You can't compare someone like Chisora, who probably has to turn sideways to fit in a door, and Opetaia, who is just a naturally smaller guy. The point Steven French made stands: can he actually carry the extra 20 pounds he'll put on to compete at heavyweight and still be effective?

Chisora is also an example of a shorter heavyweight who pretty much got his sh*t pushed in every time he fought a world class heavyweight anyway. His best wins against giants are Joyce and Pulev, who were both shot, and Helenius who was always poor (I know Del didn't get the decision but we all know he won). Isn't Chisora a bad comparison to make if we're going to hope for Jai to be successful?

I think it is a useful comparison when you consider the skill difference between Opetaia and Chisora.

Well, I like the idea of the next generation of heavyweights being smaller, faster and more skilful, and think it would be great if to see the likes of Itauma and Opetaia duke it out down the line, so I hope you’re right. Time will tell.

[Sweet Dick Willie]

Size does matter, though. If it didn't, Usyk wouldn't be eating himself up to 220+ to fight the big guys. There are welterweights who are 6 foot plus. They don't have the frame to be effective in the highest weight classes. You can't compare someone like Chisora, who probably has to turn sideways to fit in a door, and Opetaia, who is just a naturally smaller guy. The point Steven French made stands: can he actually carry the extra 20 pounds he'll put on to compete at heavyweight and still be effective?

Chisora is also an example of a shorter heavyweight who pretty much got his sh*t pushed in every time he fought a world class heavyweight anyway. His best wins against giants are Joyce and Pulev, who were both shot, and Helenius who was always poor (I know Del didn't get the decision but we all know he won). Isn't Chisora a bad comparison to make if we're going to hope for Jai to be successful?

I think it is a useful comparison when you consider the skill difference between Opetaia and Chisora.

Well, I like the idea of the next generation of heavyweights being smaller, faster and more skilful, and think it would be great if to see the likes of Itauma and Opetaia duke it out down the line, so I hope you’re right. Time will tell.

Yeah me too. And you know, if it doesn't work it doesn't work, but let's see first.

[IRONFIST]

He'll be another hypejob at heavyweight like Anderson was, they'll feed him some cans then as soon as he fights a half decent heavy, he'll be kayoed.