Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol are gearing up for their fiercely-anticipated undisputed showdown on October 12, in one of this year’s most compelling matchups.
The two unbeaten pound-for-pound stars will headline a mouthwatering Riyadh Season card in Saudi Arabia to decide who is the greatest light heavyweight champion of this era.
Featuring on the show, too, is IBF world cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, who will put his trinket on the line against European and Commonwealth titleist Jack Massey.
More than that, though, Opetaia has revealed that, should he retain his championship status, a potential clash with Bivol could be in the works.
Jai Opetaia to face the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol
Unbeaten Aussie Opetaia has established himself as a formidable puncher and skilful technician, coming off a comprehensive outing against Maries Briedis to reclaim his IBF strap.
What is more, the 29-year-old’s scintillating performances in recent years have, perhaps most importantly, caught the attention of boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh.
And so, with Opetaia swiftly becoming a mainstream attraction, Alalshikh has expressed an interest in seeing the winner of Beterbiev vs Bivol step up to face him at cruiserweight.
But while many fans have made Beterviev a favourite in his upcoming fight, it seems that Bivol – being six years his opponent’s junior – may have longevity on his side.
“That’s a fight that I would love to happen,” Opetaia told Boxing News. “I respect Bivol, you know. Respectfully, I would love to share the ring with him.”
“It’s that chess match, that stylistic fight that people watch over and over again; they’re the fights that I grew up watching.
“To have a fight like that would just be huge.”
Could Jai Opetaia fight the winner of Gilberto Ramirez vs Chris Billam-Smith?
While Opetaia will no doubt be eager to lock horns with the soon-to-be undisputed champ at 175 lbs, there is, equally, an opportunity for him to chase legacy-defining fights against cruiserweight belt holders.
After a series of promising negotiations between Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith, the pair have now finally sealed the deal for their unification on November 16.
| WBC | IBF | WBO | WBA |
| Noel Mikaelyan | Jai Opetaia | Chris Billam-Smith | Gilberto Ramirez |
Opetaia has previously made it clear that he wishes to amass all the jewellery at 200 lbs, but will need to agree a deal with one of the remaining champions first.
As for Noel Mikaelyan, the Armenian-German bruiser is still yet to make a defence of his WBC belt against mandatory challenger Ryan Rozicki, and remains somewhat distant from the world scene at cruiserweight.