Jai Opetaia fires warning to Zuffa Boxing after promotional switch: ‘I’ll be very disappointed’

Jai Opetaia has warned that he will be “very f***ing disappointed” if Zuffa Boxing does not enable him to unify the cruiserweight world titles.

Opetaia joined Zuffa last month, as the first high-profile signing by the new promotion, which is headed up by UFC president Dana White.

One curious element of Opetaia’s decision to join is that he has long expressed a desire to become undisputed cruiserweight champion – which would require him to add the remaining traditional belts to his IBF title – while Zuffa suggested it wants to move away from the current belt system.

Yet Opetaia, 30, has stressed that his goal remains the same, as the unbeaten Australian prepares to face Brandon Glanton on 8 March.

In that fight, a new Zuffa title will be on the line, but it is unclear whether Opetaia’s IBF belt will be consisted. The boxer told the Mayweather Channel last week, “I hope so, [it’s] not 100 per cent confirmed,” and The Independent has approached the IBF for comment.

Still, he told RG this week that his goal is still “undisputed”, before he fired a warning to the Zuffa hierarchy: “If we don’t get one [unification fight] by the end of the year, I’ll be very f***ing disappointed.

“Don’t take your mind off undisputed. We're chasing unification fights [...] When you think of me, you think: ‘Bro, he wants to be undisputed.’ That’s it. I’m not worried about anyone else, I don’t chase names.

“I don’t even care if it was ‘Zurdo’ [Gilberto Ramirez], or if it was [David] Benavidez, or if it was back when it was [Chris] Billam-Smith. I actually respect these dudes. I think they’re great fighters, I think they’re great world champions.”

Opetaia (29-0, 23 knockouts) had long been linked to a unification fight with Ramirez, who holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles, but the Mexican has since been paired with Benavidez, whom he will fight on 2 May.

As such, Opetaia’s pairing with Glanton comes as somewhat of a disappointment to many fans, especially given the American recently lost to Billam-Smith, who was beaten by Ramirez in his previous fight.

In any case, Opetaia insisted that Zuffa has “the same goal” as him, adding: “There was a couple of things. We sort of sat down, we went over what we wanted to do, and they said they can help us make sure things happen like that.

“They’re gonna help us make sure it happens the way we want it, to the best of their ability. But yeah, man, it just fit. It made sense, so why not?”