Jai Opetaia has vacated his IBF cruiserweight title after an agreement couldn’t be reached to allow him an exemption to make a voluntary defence.
The Australian is booked to fight Ellis Zorro in Saudi Arabia this weekend, on a card which features the likes of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Dmitry Bivol, among a host of the sport’s biggest names.
Opetaia and his team had been in negotiations with the IBF to allow him to make a voluntary defence against Zorro, with his mandatory challenger, Mairis Briedis, unable to fight on the proposed date.
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Why did Jai Opetaia vacate the IBF title?
“I fought through absolute agony to win that belt and it saddens me to relinquish it,” said Opetaia.
“But the fact is, Briedis isn’t ready to fight on December 23 and I need to stay active. I simply can’t turn down a career-high payday.
“Belts should be won and lost in the ring and I’m still the Ring Magazine champion and all roads in the cruiserweight division go through me.
“I am the true king of the cruiserweight division and I’ll be defending that prestigious Ring Magazine title on December 23.
“I look forward to getting that IBF belt back as soon as possible and adding all of them, one by one.”
Briedis was named mandatory in August but hasn't been in a position to fight, seeing the IBF grant Opetaia one exemption to face Englishman Jordan Thompson in a voluntary defence.
Opetaia knocked Thompson out in the fourth round in London to retain his IBF and Ring titles, which he won when defeating Briedis last July.
A broken jaw kept Opetaia sidelined following that fight but his return was further delayed when his mandatory challengers, first Mateusz Masternak, and then Richard Riakporhe, both withdrew from negotiations.
That saw Briedis installed as the southpaw’s mandatory challenger.
However, with the Latvian again delaying a rematch, Opetaia accepted a fight with the unranked Zorro on the blockbuster “Day Of Reckoning” card in Riyadh.
The IBF’s rules state champions aren't allowed consecutive exemptions.
Opetaia’s team, including manager Mick Francis and Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn, have appealed to the sanctioning body but the calls have fallen on deaf ears, despite Briedis' camp reportedly confirming his unavailability.
“We respect the IBF’s rules which are in place to protect the boxer in the mandatory position,” Francis said.
“However, this was one extremely bizarre circumstance where the mandatory boxer was actually happy to not have it immediately enforced, as he’s injured.
“We were left with three options. Vacate, be stripped if Jai fights on December 23 or wait for Briedis.
"There’s an old saying that you can’t eat trophies. Jai cannot turn down the life-changing money on offer for the Zorro bout and we need the activity.”
The 28-year-old will retain his Ring title but his mission to unify the division has taken another detour.
“He’s always had the dream of unifying all the titles. It will still happen, it’s just a setback,” Francis told Sporting News.
“He’s young, he’s positive and he just wants to fight.
“He needs to get back in the ring and do what he does best.”
