BoxRec

Tyson won’t be ready in Feb. He will lose.

I keep checking to see if Boxrec has this as definite yet and it still is not…I just do not trust this to happen!
5 weeks to go…

i watched a bit of safar and he doesnt look bad, certainly good enough to make an interesting opponent for 40 year old, 2 years inactive kovalev

wonder what the odds will be on that one...

Jai Opetaia To Land on Feb. 17 Fury-Usyk Undercard; Will Train With Fury Ahead Of Championship Defense

The sport’s reigning lineal heavyweight and cruiserweight champions will not only share a card but a training camp as well.

BS.com has confirmed that Jai Opetaia will next appear on the undercard of the February 17 Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk heavyweight championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A challenger was not immediately identified as this goes to publication. Boxing Scene has learned, however, that Opetaia will head to Fury’s training camp this weekend to spar with the sport’s reigning heavyweight king leading up to their separate championship title defenses.

The placement marks a quick turnaround for Sydney’s Opetaia (24-0, 19KOs), who will attempt the third defense of the true cruiserweight championship.

This bout comes less than two months after his December 23 first-round knockout of England’s Ellis Zorro (17-1, 7KOs) on the ‘Day Of Reckoning’ undercard also in Riyadh. All three title defenses will now come within a span of less than five months after having sat out much of 2023 while recovering from shoulder surgery.

Opetaia made headlines leading up to the Zorro fight, mainly surrounding the circumstances which forced him to relinquish the IBF cruiserweight title.

He was previously ordered to face Latvia’s Mairis Briedis, whom he outpointed over twelve furious rounds in July 2022 to dethrone the three-time cruiserweight champ. The two sides could not reach a deal for what would have been a rematch, which prompted the IBF to order a purse bid.

However, Opetaia already committed to fighting on the Day of Reckoning show, to which Briedis did not object on the condition he still get his mandatory title shot within the deadline period. The IBF nixed the idea, given that Opetaia already used up a voluntary exception when he faced and defeated England’s Jordan Thompson last September.

Ironically, the February 17 date will mark Opetaia’s third fight since Briedis last appeared in the ring in their July 2022 thriller. Briedis is next due to face Mexico’s Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez for the vacant title. The date is pending the outcome of a scheduled January 16 purse bid hearing.

A favorable amount of sympathy was granted to the unbeaten 28-year-old—who represented Australia as a teenager in the 2012 London Olympics—who retained his standing as the recognized cruiserweight champion.

An added layer should come from his time that will be spent in the presence of England’s Fury (34-0-1, 24KOs), who faces Ukraine’s Usyk (21-0, 14KOs) in a bid to crown the sport’s first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years. Fury gets something out of it as well in a 6'2" southpaw sparring partner who roughly matches Usyk's physical dimensions.

Fury survived a major scare but couldn’t avoid negative press as his far too competitive and razor-thin victory over Francis Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion who made his pro boxing debut. Their October 28 bout did not come with Fury’s WBC title on the line, but he nearly suffered his first defeat as he was dropped in the third round. Fury rallied to escape with a ten-round, split decision victory.

It was theorized that his preparation for that bout miserably paled in comparison to the work put in for past camps. Fury regained his place atop the heavyweight division with a February 2020 lineal/WBC championship-winning stoppage over Deontay Wilder. Three title defenses have followed, all inside the distance.

Would , think Fury will get more out of this than Jai

Tyson training with Jai is one of the best things I’ve heard about Fury in recent memory. Looking forward to seeing Jai on the undercard.

Hopefully Jai doesn't hurt him in sparring and cause a pull out. He's a pretty intense guy is Jai.

Usyk's sparingpartners. Btw who is last one?

Usyk v Fury - undisputed, unpredictable outcome, great headliner
Opetai v Breidis - active young champion against a inactive 39 year old who wants a lat day, predictable outcome. Bit pointless now
Cordina v Cacace - fight of interest to the British in a feeder division.
Kovalev v Sirwan - Kovalev is shot, no interest in the outcome
3x TBC - pick the name fighter, all predictable outcomes
Lowe v Ahmadi - Fury's mate, guess it could hold some interest as the first fight of the card

Where are the heavyweight fringe contenders? Where is Anderson? Where is Ajagba? Heck, where is Ruiz Jr.?

They are really making the Fury v Ngannou undercard look like good value with this one. At least we are getting undisputed, finally, I guess. Let's see what price they stick on this

Finkel wrote: ↑17 Jan 2024, 00:04 Usyk v Fury - undisputed, unpredictable outcome, great headliner
Opetai v Breidis - active young champion against a inactive 39 year old who wants a lat day, predictable outcome. Bit pointless now
Cordina v Cacace - fight of interest to the British in a feeder division.
Kovalev v Sirwan - Kovalev is shot, no interest in the outcome
3x TBC - pick the name fighter, all predictable outcomes
Lowe v Ahmadi - Fury's mate, guess it could hold some interest as the first fight of the card

Where are the heavyweight fringe contenders? Where is Anderson? Where is Ajagba? Heck, where is Ruiz Jr.?

They are really making the Fury v Ngannou undercard look like good value with this one. At least we are getting undisputed, finally, I guess. Let's see what price they stick on this

Bit harsh on the briedis fight. Last time briadis fought he was the number 1 cruiser in the world, broke jais jaw and won the back end of the fight (strong argument for 5 of the last 6 rounds).

Jais got some unknowns too, hasn’t fought a pulse (Mabey a bit harsh) since shoulder and jaw surgery, held up with easy touches no garrentee the same in a war…

Sure there’s a very good chance he he faded more and Jai wins handily, but I wouldn’t put it in the pointless and predictable basket.

1415897 wrote: ↑16 Jan 2024, 15:05
Usyk's sparingpartners. Btw who is last one?

Darren Sealy


others are Sanel Hasonivic, Emmanuel Odiase & Volodymyr Katsuk

that one dude is marisz wach

he's been sparring with jalolov too

gregregegg wrote: ↑17 Jan 2024, 02:22

Finkel wrote: ↑17 Jan 2024, 00:04 Usyk v Fury - undisputed, unpredictable outcome, great headliner
Opetai v Breidis - active young champion against a inactive 39 year old who wants a lat day, predictable outcome. Bit pointless now
Cordina v Cacace - fight of interest to the British in a feeder division.
Kovalev v Sirwan - Kovalev is shot, no interest in the outcome
3x TBC - pick the name fighter, all predictable outcomes
Lowe v Ahmadi - Fury's mate, guess it could hold some interest as the first fight of the card

Where are the heavyweight fringe contenders? Where is Anderson? Where is Ajagba? Heck, where is Ruiz Jr.?

They are really making the Fury v Ngannou undercard look like good value with this one. At least we are getting undisputed, finally, I guess. Let's see what price they stick on this

Bit harsh on the briedis fight. Last time briadis fought he was the number 1 cruiser in the world, broke jais jaw and won the back end of the fight (strong argument for 5 of the last 6 rounds).

Jais got some unknowns too, hasn’t fought a pulse (Mabey a bit harsh) since shoulder and jaw surgery, held up with easy touches no garrentee the same in a war…

Sure there’s a very good chance he he faded more and Jai wins handily, but I wouldn’t put it in the pointless and predictable basket.

Actually, you are right. It will likely be an entertaining fight even if Breidis is there for the pay day. It's good as an undercard fight as it will entertain prospective new fans of the sport.

I still think a lot of the undercard isn't good, though. It's certanly not on the scale that it should be. We are getting British interest fights and they are even digging up Kovalev for the eastern block angle. But, where are the exciting young fighters/ heavyweights? Like, I'm not even that into Anderson, but it seems ridiculous that he isn't on this card against a solid opponent to try and draw some American interest.

Undisputed at heavyweight is the fight that a lot of boxing fans have been waiting 30 years for. It will bring a lot of eyes to the sport. The main event is the main event, but the undercard isn't doing it for me.

Jalolov vs Ortiz has been added to the card.

better than i was expecting

Ortiz?

It's like they have kept the same fights they were planning for early 2023 before negotiations broke down, and just thought, "ah fornicate it, no one will notice..."

oogiebe wrote: ↑17 Jan 2024, 20:18 Jalolov vs Ortiz has been added to the card.

An interesting one. Ortiz while have a punchers chance as a Wiley veteran but Jalalov should be able to dismantle him. First name for Jalalov's record though. I think he needs a younger opponent to get him into the top 15.

lazboy wrote: ↑09 Jan 2024, 17:43 Tyson won’t be ready in Feb. He will lose.

I guess Fury hopes to lose by decision so he could blame the world and the war for defeat plus he could have a rematch plus a new hype for Netflix series a new year of business and career
My 2 cents on KO in 6 rounds

joshj909 wrote: ↑18 Jan 2024, 03:46

oogiebe wrote: ↑17 Jan 2024, 20:18 Jalolov vs Ortiz has been added to the card.

An interesting one. Ortiz while have a punchers chance as a Wiley veteran but Jalalov should be able to dismantle him. First name for Jalalov's record though. I think he needs a younger opponent to get him into the top 15.

I'm just happy he's back fighting pro.

Can't see how Usyk wins this fight tbh

KO in 6 rounds