gilgamesh wrote: ↑08 Oct 2026, 16:02
I like Opetaia vs Wilder better.
Wilder is 40- stick a fork in him. His whole career depended on fast twitch muscles launching a bomb.
That's gone, and he doesn't really have anything else except his chin is pretty good so he just takes more punishment because of career long poor defence.
He's still got cache for a Cruiserweight Champion making his Heavyweight debut. He doesn't really have cache as a Heavyweight title contender at this point.
If Opetaia fought Wilder in December and then Usyk in March on the other hand. Zuffa will have positioned themselves into possibly having control of the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Which is all a Boxing promoter needs to get the ball rolling. Don King ruled Boxing for nearly 3 decades controlling the Heavyweight title.
I wonder how much they'd have to pay Usyk to face Opetaia instead of Wilder. It seemed his mind was set on Wilder as more of a legacy view rather than because he wanted the fight specifically. Would cost a lot for them to try and change his mentality you would think. It's a shame that they didn't try and give Opetaia a live body first, like Ajagba, because he might end up being a dud at heavyweight and a wasted fight for Usyk while Kabayel, Dubois, Itauma, Hrgovic, Jalolov and others dominate the next generation. I suspect they're scared of him losing before a Usyk payday.
