Opetaia vs Cinkara set for Jan. 8 on the Gold Coast

Jai Opetaia is 2-0 in the last six months

In the wake of Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez’s unifying victory over Chris Billam-Smith, fellow cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia is set for a significantly less glamorous bout, battling IBF mandatory Hiseyin Cinkara on DAZN this coming January 8th.

Despite Ramirez’s triumph, there’s a strong argument to be made that Opetaia (26-0, 20 KO) is the man to beat at 200 after two wins over Mairis Briedis and violent beatdowns of the likes of Ellis Zorro and Jack Massey. Cinkara (22-0, 18 KO), on the other hand, is weak even by the IBF’s abysmal standards; he’s 39 and his only good win came over Armend Xhoxhaj this past April, putting him in the company of fellow victims-to-the-stars Apinun Khongsong and Michael Dasmarinas.

I actually shot the IBF an interview request to discuss garbage mandatories like Cinkara and Michael Eifert. They just threw a fit about my Fernando Martinez article because I said he’d been stripped when it turned out he’d actually vacated to avoid being stripped.

At least Opetaia’s making a quick turnaround; Eddie Hearn has talked about pitting Opetaia against Ramirez, which would be a genuinely great fight, and the timing should work.