Unbeaten knockout king Jai Opetaia has been linked heavily with a massive blockbuster in his return to the ring.
Running roughshod through his fellow cruiserweights, Wyong native Opetaia maintained his status as IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titleholder earlier this summer, stopping Claudio Squeo with a fifth round finish to rack up his 22nd career knockout win.
And branded as a significant threat to Oleksandr Usyk, Opetaia is fast running out of potential challengers to his dominant reign at cruiserweight.
However, a potential blockbuster against a divisional newcomer could be on the horizon.
Jai Opetaia linked with showdown against cruiserweight mover
And while links to a potential heavyweight move persist — especially if he’s matched against Ukrainian megastar Usyk, Opetaia may have another European kingpin awaiting him soon.
As per Matchroom Boxing leader Eddie Hearn, Opetaia has been identified as a potential opponent for Russian star Dmitry Bivol.
And while the light heavyweight kingpin has been issued a call out by Anthony Yarde in recent weeks, Hearn believes a showdown between Opetaia and Bivol would be “fantastic”.
“We talked about him (Dmitry Bivol) stepping up and fighting Jai Opetaia at cruiserweight,” Hearn told Boxing News.”
“I think it’s a fantastic fight,” Hearn continued.
However, with a fight against Opetaia mooted by Hearn, don’t expect Bivol to end his feud with one of his most notable rivals this year at least.
Artur Beterbiev refuses to wait for Dmitry Bivol
Fresh from back surgery, Bivol currently holds bragging rights over Russian-born veteran Artur Beterbiev following their rematch back in February.
Clinching the undisputed light heavyweight crown, Bivol outpointed Beterbiev over the course of 12 rounds in the Middle East, having dropped his first career loss to the former in their first pairing back in October of last year in a controversial loss.
But with Bivol likely sidelined until the end of the year — if not 2026 at the earliest — Beterbiev has no plans to wait out a trilogy rubber match with his compatriot.
According to reports, too, Beterbiev is lined up for a November return against Najee Lopez — who has won each and every one of his 12 professional fights.