Jai Opetaia called to give evidence in Brisbane’s Supreme Court after being hit with $1.6 million damages bill

He is just 18 days away from fighting for a world title in Saudi Arabia. But Australian sensation Jai Opetaia’s preparations have been rocked by a fresh legal battle in Brisbane.

Australian boxing sensation Jai Opetaia is being sued for $1.6 million as a fresh legal war breaks out ahead of his upcoming world-title fight.

This masthead can reveal the Opetaia legal spat returned to Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Monday with his former promoter Dean Lonergan seeking a $1 million-plus damages bill from the fighter he once helped to a world title.

Widely regarded as Australia’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer, Opetaia gave evidence on Wednesday — just 18 days out from the biggest bout of his career.

Jai Opetaia is embroiled in another legal battle and is being sued for $1.6 million. Picture: Getty Images

Opetaia will fight Mairis Briedis for the vacant IBF cruiserweight world title on Sunday, May 19 (AEST) on a mega card headlined by the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk heavyweight blockbuster in Saudi Arabia.

But Opetaia’s preparations have been rocked by a second legal wrangle in 12 months after Lonergan launched fresh proceedings against the 28-year-old former world champion over an alleged breach of contract.

Lonergan, the boxing promoter who also staged the epic Jeff Horn-Manny Pacquiao blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium in 2017, helped Opetaia conquer the world.

His company, D & L Events, bankrolled the event that saw Opetaia overcome a broken jaw to beat Latvian arch rival Briedis for the IBF cruiserweight world title on the Gold Coast in July 2022.

But less than two years later, the pair are at loggerheads in Brisbane’s Supreme Court after Opetaia severed ties with Lonergan in February 2023 with the support of his manager Mick Francis.

Opetaia celebrates his world-title win in 2022 after suffering a broken jaw. Picture: Peter Wallis/Getty Images

Opetaia, a NSW Central Coast product now living on the Gold Coast, subsequently signed a deal with British promoter Matchroom and had two fights last year in England and Saudi Arabia after axing Lonergan.

But Lonergan, a former first-grade rugby league forward who played for New Zealand, claims Opetaia was contracted to his stable until June this year and illegally broke that deal by defecting to Matchroom.

The court heard Opetaia was paid $USD900,000 ($1.5 million) for his most recent fight in December against Ellis Zorro, in which he was forced to relinquish his IBF world title to chase the biggest payday of his career in Saudi Arabia.

Lonergan is seeking damages for as many as five proposed fights for the remainder of their contract, with Opetaia being sued for dual amounts of $861,678 and US$509,600 ($762,417), totalling $1,624,495.

Opetaia’s former promoter Dean Lonergan is suing the Australian champion for breach of contract. Picture: Glenn Hampson

It is alleged Lonergan’s company, D & L Events, also lost $296,764 promoting Opetaia’s world-title fight against Briedis in July 2022 and had paid an additional $82,618 in training costs for him to prepare for the bout.

Opetaia first scored a victory in Brisbane’s Supreme Court in March 2023 when a judge dismissed an application from D & L Events for an injunction to stop the champion boxer holding his first world-title defence.

Opetaia celebrates his legal win last year after a judge dismissed an injunction claim against the boxer. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Glenn Campbell

Lonergan declined to comment when contacted on Wednesday but in an interview last year, claimed Opetaia has breached his contract.

“The damages bill consists of five fights,” Lonergan said.

“Jai is not only the best cruiserweight in the world, he is the toughest combat sports athlete in the world in my view and he is about to go on an incredible run in his career.

“There was no incentive for me to rip him off because when Jai does well, we do well as a team.

“I lost $300,000 trying to get Jai to win a world title — and as a team, we worked hard to get him in a position to win a world title.”

Opetaia’s agent, Francis, claims Lonergan failed to fulfil broadcasting terms after losing his contract with Fox Sports, effectively making the former IBF world champion a free agent.

Opetaia has a chance to reclaim his world-champion status in his rematch with Briedis later this month.

The hearing concludes on Friday.

Originally published as Jai Opetaia called to give evidence in Brisbane’s Supreme Court after being hit with $1.6 million damages bill