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Lineal cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will likely be again within the ring lower than three months after his final combat, taking up Huseyin Cinkara, the obligatory challenger to Opetaia’s IBF world title.
Ben Damon, an Australian boxing broadcaster, confirmed the news. Opetaia vs. Cinkara will happen on the Gold Coast Conference Centre.
Opetaia, 26-0 (20 KOs), final fought on October 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, making a voluntary protection in opposition to Jack Massey and scoring a sixth-round stoppage.
That was Opetaia’s third straight look on the Kingdom Enviornment. The combat with Cinkara will likely be his first time performing in entrance of his house crowd — he lives within the close by metropolis of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia — since successful his first world title and the lineal championship there in his first combat with Mairis Briedis in July 2022.
Opetaia made one protection of the IBF belt after which vacated it with a view to face Ellis Zorro in December 2023. He wound up rematching Briedis this Could, with the vacant IBF title on the road, and received one other unanimous choice.
This time, the 29-year-old Opetaia is opting to carry on to the title, particularly with the prospect of a unification bout on the horizon. The highest challenger for Opetaia’s throne is somebody who has already unified, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, who now has each the WBA and WBO belts following his clear unanimous choice over Chris Billam-Smith final weekend.
The 39-year-old Cinkara turned the IBF’s obligatory challenger after successful an eliminator in April, knocking out Armend Xhoxhaj in 4 minutes and shifting to 22-0 (18 KOs) within the course of.
Opetaia’s group had requested an exception from the IBF to be allowed to defend the IBF belt in opposition to Massey.
The IBF had authorized that request beneath a number of circumstances, together with that Opetaia-Massey couldn’t happen any later than October 12; the winner of Opetaia-Massey should defend the IBF title by January 20, 2025; and that the IBF wouldn’t grant any extra exceptions for defending in opposition to the cruiserweight obligatory challenger.
IBF guidelines basically prohibit consecutive voluntary defenses.
David Greisman, who has lined boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He’s the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s e-book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is obtainable on Amazon.
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