I honestly think that Jai Opetaia is the most talented boxer of the day

[JackSprocket]

He doesn't have the flaws Inoue and Usyk has, and Crawford is way too inactive.

[gilgamesh]

I wouldn't have him in my Top 10 Pound for Pound yet. So I can't say I agree.

He's a good fighter. In all likelihood he's the best at Cruiserweight. I think he's gonna need an assist from Father Time before he steps up to try to dethrone Usyk.

[margaret thatcher]

jai is a total stud, needs better fights though

[JackSprocket]

jai is a total stud, needs better fights though

At least he active.

[1995539]

Do we prefer a cruiser unification

Or more regular wins from the top 15's

Or a proper venture into the heavies.

[gregregegg]

Jai needs to unify aiming at undisputed.

If he gets undisputed or the goal stalls too long he should move up to heavy.

The one non unification fight I would be interested in is Bert if Bert got a win at 175 and wanted to move up. (Berts a levle of tallent that the cruiser division rarely sees and he is just big enough ((Bivol isn’t big enough))

Ps how does Badu still got a belt, he is undersized and 57.

[gilgamesh]

Do we prefer a cruiser unification

Or more regular wins from the top 15's

Or a proper venture into the heavies.

I'd say if he can't get a fight with Zurdo Ramirez by the end of the year then by the end of the year he needs to move up to Heavyweight and go for the big money fights there.

[golden_labrador]

Jai needs to unify aiming at undisputed.

If he gets undisputed or the goal stalls too long he should move up to heavy.

The one non unification fight I would be interested in is Bert if Bert got a win at 175 and wanted to move up. (Berts a levle of tallent that the cruiser division rarely sees and he is just big enough ((Bivol isn’t big enough))

I'd love to see Turki sort this rather than Bivol III

[Taansend]

He didn't look that good in the 2nd half of the Breidis rematch. Was getting knocked from pillar to post for parts of it.

I'm sure the experience will do him the world of good but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

He's in his 30th year, 11th year as a pro & Breidis is the only truly top opponent he's fought.

I like Jai but until he fights Ramirez, or even CBS, he's not a top ten fighter yet.

[joshj909]

He didn't look that good in the 2nd half of the Breidis rematch. Was getting knocked from pillar to post for parts of it.

I'm sure the experience will do him the world of good but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

He's in his 30th year, 11th year as a pro & Breidis is the only truly top opponent he's fought.

I like Jai but until he fights Ramirez, or even CBS, he's not a top ten fighter yet.

An old Briedis as well. Briedis is an underrated boxer in my opinion and would've been a solid champ if Usyk and Opetaia weren't in his era but he wasn't in his prime when Opetaia came up against him, especially the second time.

[coneye]

Definetly not the most talented . Or at least not fought enough top opponen ts yet to be considered anywhere near that BUT Definetly the most intense

[KiwiRider]

I like him, but I would want him to move up now. Given how slow the HW division moves, 30 is a good age to try it.

[Cyclops]

He doesn't have the flaws Inoue and Usyk has, and Crawford is way too inactive.

OK, I'll bite.

He's very good. The Briedis wins were impressive, although I remember watching the rematch over a mate's house on the Fury-Usyk 2 undercard. I was bigging Jai up and telling people this was the one to watch, after watching him smash Thompson and Zorro, but I remember him starting to look a little ragged and banged up in there towards the end. He didn't look like Superman or anything.

Since then, he has been fed a diet of lower-tier, and 'who-the-fornicate-is-this?' tier fighters: no real names or former champs, no unifications. Ramirez fought Billam-Smith, and has Dorticos signed who is at least a proper name from the Usyk era. Billiam-Smith has some SOLID names on his resume.

Couldn't Opetia's team have gotten somebody better than Squeo, Nyika or Massey? If they made the Mike Perez fight tomorrow, that probably would be Opetia's 2nd best opponent.

I've also said this before but he isn't big enough to be a heavyweight. People can point to Usyk and say he's the best heavyweight by a mile, but he has the footwork and the boxing brain to befuddle big lumbering guys. He was also always a heavyweight cutting to make cruiserweight. He never looked small as a cruiser, did he? Whereas Jai has often looked quite small in the ring against fellow cruisers. I suspect his listed height to be something of an exaggeration. He looks about six foot and like a big light-heavyweight as opposed to a small heavyweight.

He is very good, but for the time being, just to mention him in the same sentence as Inoue, Usyk and Crawford... It's a reach.

[robbydecker]

I like him, but I would want him to move up now. Given how slow the HW division moves, 30 is a good age to try it.

Personally I'd love to watch a bout between Opetaia and Itauma.

Seems like it'd be a great and highly intriguing chessmatch of boxing styles.

Definitely Jai Should try Heavyweight, Now..!!

[margaret thatcher]

love jai, but compare his .last 3 fights to zurdo's

squeo
nyika
massey

and that is after he fought total knockovers in jordan thompson and ellis zoro


dorticos
billam smith
arsen

i'd say that's 0 top ten opponents vs 3 top ten opponents - billam smith prob more like top 3-5 at the time. you cant be the man of the division when there is a unified champ fighting better fights than you. jai of course had the briedis wins, but how about some consistency in fighting good opposition?

i agree jai is super talented though, i still would take him over zurdo. but dude gotta get better fights

[Cyclops]

love jai, but compare his .last 3 fights to zurdo's

squeo
nyika
massey

and that is after he fought total knockovers in jordan thompson and ellis zoro


dorticos
billam smith
arsen

i'd say that's 0 top ten opponents vs 3 top ten opponents - billam smith prob more like top 3-5 at the time. you cant be the man of the division when there is a unified champ fighting better fights than you. jai of course had the briedis wins, but how about some consistency in fighting good opposition?

i agree jai is super talented though, i still would take him over zurdo. but dude gotta get better fights

I've got a horrible feeling Zurdo lights him up and wins on points. Jai is not hard to hit, and is looking like a KO merchant against sub-par opposition, but didn't come close to stopping Briedis when he did step up to elite level. Zurdo took some solid shots off Billam-Smith and didn't budge. He also beat him so easily it was actually quite shocking. He has one loss to someone who is ATG material. I can quite easily see him de-railing the hype train.

[margaret thatcher]

it wouldnt shock me , jai isnt the hardest to hit and zurdo has been boxing as well as ever at cruiser. i do think stepping up a level of opponent might switch jai on more, but lets see the fight and find out

[tigermoth87]

He's good. But we all know that when he faces Ramirez, we're gonna see the typical Mexican robbery where Gil has a four round advantage before the bell even rings. Mexicans love their corrupt judges.

[Taansend]

He's good. But we all know that when he faces Ramirez, we're gonna see the typical Mexican robbery where Gil has a four round advantage before the bell even rings. Mexicans love their corrupt judges.

Other than Canelo, do you have any examples of this?

Thanks