Gold Coast Sweat House gym, run by Martin “Tapu” Opetaia, dad of Jai Opetaia, in liquidation
A Gold Coast gym run by the father of a renowned former world boxing champion has gone into liquidation after less than 18 months in business.
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A boxing gym run by the father of world champion boxer Jai Opetaia has gone into liquidation after less than 18 months in business.
Sweat House was operated by Martin “Tapu” Opetaia – himself a formidable boxer – who ran group fitness, training and recovery sessions as well as a dedicated boxing gym.
Liquidator Matt Bookless of SV Partners was appointed to Sweat House on Thursday.
The Bulletin has been unable to contact Mr Opetaia Snr.
Sweat House was located in the Pegasus Centre on Bundall Rd, taking over the premises after Anytime Fitness left it in November 2022.
The company’s website and social media pages show images of people working out at the gym and training in its boxing ring.
Jai Opetaia features heavily in images with his dad on the company’s website.
The 709sq m space is back on the rental market, with a for lease sign out the front, below towering Sweat House signage fronting the busy road.
The gym had been emptied of its equipment on Friday, with just a pie warmer on a bench and a few pieces of building material scattered around the floor.
It had been advertised for lease at $134,000 a year in 2022, property records show.
Mr Opetaia Snr is now coaching out of Fiteklub Gym in Burleigh Heads, which is not related to the company in liquidation.
Company documents show Sweat House was created by Mr Opetaia Snr in June 2022.
The gym owner’s famous son, captured the IBF cruiserweight world title on the Gold Coast less than two weeks later, after a bruising encounter with Mairis Briedis.
Opetaia fought out the bout with a broken jaw. At the time, he told reporters “my jaw wasn’t even connected to my skull”. He was heralded for his bravery in the fight and bringing another world title to Australian shores.
Opetaia first came into the public spotlight as the youngest ever Australian Olympic boxer, qualifying for the 2012 Games as a 16-year-old heavyweight.
Since then, Opetaia switched promoters, suffered injury setbacks and was locked in a court battle with his former promoter Dean Lonergan over a contract dispute.
Jai Opetaia claimed the Gold Coast 2022 Sports Star of the Year award and was hailed a future heavyweight world champion and one of the greatest fighters on the planet after the Australian assassin shocked the boxing world with a savage first-round knockout of Englishman Ellis Zorroin Saudi Arabia in December.
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