Jai Opetaia scores knockout win in $1.6 million court case against former promoter
Jai Opetaia has already secured a knockout win two days out from his IBF cruiserweight world title defence in Saudi Arabia, with a monster $1.6 million court case victory against a former promoter.
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Jai Opetaia has already scored his first big victory of the weekend, with the IBF cruiserweight world champion winning his protracted $1.6 million court case against former promoter Dean Lonergan.
Lonergan sued Opetaia for lost revenue earlier this year after the Aussie boxer terminated his contract with the Kiwi promoter.
Opetaia gave evidence in the ongoing court case in May, and now, just 48 hours before his IBF world title defence against Jack Massey in Saudi Arabia, has claimed his first win of the weekend.
And it’s a knockout blow.
Opetaia “won every point. It was a landslide” his manager, Mick Francis told this masthead from Riyadh, just minutes after receiving the news.
Lonergan helped Opetaia win the cruiserweight world title in 2022, with the gutsy brawler fighting through a badly broken jaw.
Opetaia then severed ties with Lonergan, prompting the veteran New Zealand promoter to launch two legal cases over the last two years.
Opetaia has since signed with UK powerhouse Matchroom boxing and become a mainstay on cards in Riyadh. He’s even a favourite of boxing’s new powerhouse, Turki al-Alsheikh.
Lonergan sought damages for lost earnings on up to five big-money fights. Francis claimed Lonergan could no longer fulfil the terms of his contract with Opetaia after his company D&L Events lost its broadcast contract with Fox Sports.
Jai’s courtroom win is a huge victory for his whole family, not least his grandad, Billy.
He’s the one Jai has fought for since day one.
And while Opetaia defends his IBF title this weekend, there’s another piece of silverware the Aussie desperately wants to win: The WBO belt.
It has significance beyond the man who currently holds it – Englishman Chris Billam-Smith – who dodged a fight with Opetaia this year.
There’s a sentimental meaning behind the title which stems back to Opetaia’s grandfather, William, who was born in Samoa and became a handy middleweight in New Zealand.
When his own career ended, ‘Billy’ helped train so many others.
Ask around enough and you’ll soon hear dozens of untold tales about how Billy guided wayward youngsters towards the boxing gym and away from the streets.
Young Jai was trained by his dad, Tapu, but it was his granddad who laid the foundation.
And that’s who he fights for. William ‘Billy’ Opetaia - WBO.
“There’s a bit of history to it,” Opetaia tells this masthead about why he wants the WBO title. “It’s a long story from when I was a young man and there’s a bit of sentimental value to it.”
Opetaia stops talking as his eyes well up.
Billy is getting on now, and has had some health issues lately.
His eyes still sparkle though, and he has great shadow boxing form. He shows it off while wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a bright image of his world champion grandson on the front.
Linked by blood and bound by boxing, Jai still looks up to Billy, but doesn’t know how long he has left.
“I really just want to put that belt around my waist, and I want to be able to give it to him,” Opetaia says of the WBO title.
“It’s not even about Billam-Smith. It’s about the belt.”
Which is why Opetaia gets so frustrated with boxing politics, trash-talk, influencer fights and purse negotiations.
He’s fighting for something much more. It’s about honouring his grandad while he still can.
“Until I get that belt it’s all just a dream, isn’t it?” he says. “What’s annoying me most right now is that I just want that belt.
“It’s not about Billam-Smith personally. It’s not that I personally want to fight him. I don’t care, mate.
“We’ve both got belts, so let’s fight for more belts. Isn’t that what champions should want to do, prove you’re the best?
“Otherwise what are we doing, sitting here doing interviews and trying to get more famous?
“That stuff doesn’t bother me. I don’t want Instagram followers, I’m not trying to sell myself, I just want to be known as the best fighter, and that’s it.”
Already considered the best cruiserweight in the world – and a big chance of winning world titles at heavyweight in the future – Opetaia can stamp his mark on the division with a big victory over Massey in Riyadh this weekend.
Meanwhile, Billam-Smith defends the WBO title in a unification bout against the dangerous WBA champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (46-1) next month.
Opetaia’s camp has been talking to Billam-Smith’s team about staging a blockbuster unification bout early next year if they both win.
There will be talk of mandatories, purses, venues and promoters, but Jai sums up his thoughts succinctly.
“I don’t wanna go back and forth. Let’s just fight,” he said. “I’ll fight you wherever, honestly, I don’t care about records, I don’t care about what he’s said about me.
“This is called the fight game. Let’s just fight.”
Jai Opetaia fights Jack Massey on Sunday morning AEDT on the Artur Beterbiev vs Dimitri Bivol undercard. The fight is being streamed on DAZN.
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Originally published as Jai Opetaia scores knockout win in $1.6 million court case against former promoter
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