Jai Opetaia Wants Benavidez Vs. Ramirez Winner

Jai Opetaia (25-0) has put himself forward for a title shot against the winner of Gilberto Ramirez (47-1) and David Benavidez (29-0), making his move ahead of their WBA and WBO cruiserweight title fight on May 2.

Opetaia’s push comes without a belt. The IBF stripped him of the cruiserweight title following his move to Zuffa Boxing, which has complicated his positioning in the division, after he took a non-title sanctioned fight. Jose Benavidez Sr. has already cited the lack of a title and limited profile as reasons the matchup does not currently make sense from their side.

Benavidez Reacts

“That ship has kinda sailed now that Opetaia doesn’t have the [IBF belt] because what are we gonna fight for, the Zuffa belt? I think the thing that happened with Opetaia, it pushed that fight back longer than it has to be. We were probably thinking [it would happen] in a year.

“Now we’re probably thinking two, three years. We’ve gotta sit down and see what happens with this whole thing with Zuffa, because it’s apparent they’re not messing with the WBC, IBF or any of those titles. At the end of the day, I’m fighting for these titles, so we would have to see what’s gonna happen for us to make that fight possible,” Benavidez said

Opetaia Responds

Benavidez has also said he will either move back down to 175 pounds to target Dmitry Bivol, or even consider moving up to heavyweight. Meanwhile, Ramirez has said he could end his boxing career within the next two fights. Despite that, Opetaia has called out both men rather than targeting one, keeping his options open regardless of Saturday’s result.

“Hey, you talk about fighting the best, this and that. Don’t talk about it. I’m right here. The winner out of Zurdo vs. Benavidez, let’s go,” Opetaia

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